{"id":4377,"date":"2017-06-28T07:48:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T14:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=4377"},"modified":"2017-06-28T08:05:41","modified_gmt":"2017-06-28T15:05:41","slug":"review-okja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=4377","title":{"rendered":"Review: OKJA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"okja1\"\"fixbutton\"South Korean filmmaker Joon-ho Bong can\u2019t seem to make a bad film.\u00a0 Since 2003 with his \u201cMemories of Murder\u201d and onto his absolutely gut-wrenching drama \u201cMother\u201d in 2009, serving as both writer and director he constantly challenges us in unique and artful ways.<\/p>\n

And Bong\u2019s \u201cOkja\u201d is equal parts artful and challenging.\u00a0 Easily his most accessible film, it’s another environmental cautionary tale on par with \u201cThe Host\u201d but not as dark and depressing as his epic \u201cSnowpiercer.\u201d Without some of the language and a bit of violence, \u201cOkja\u201d might qualify as family entertainment.\u00a0 But Bong is intent on striking a mature tone, one that keeps his message intact and not watered down.<\/p>\n

The story follows a genetically engineered super pig created by the fictitious Mirando corporation and raised by a kind farmer and his loving grand-daughter Mija (Seo-Hyun Ahn).\u00a0 The hippo-sized beast they name Okja, and she is one special animal.\u00a0 Mija and Okja share a special bond. But as the contract with Mirando nears its end, Okja may be taken from Mija forever. As Okja is spirited away, Mija pursues them to the city and beyond.\u00a0 It\u2019s an adventure that just might reveal Mirando\u2019s true nefarious intentions in the process.<\/p>\n

The effects blend well with the live-action as Okja develops a real personality and feels very much alive.\u00a0 Shades of Dumbo swirl about, for sure. Anyone who\u2019s seen \u201cSnowpiercer\u201d won\u2019t be surprised that the performances are tweaked to the fantastical max, with Tilda Swinton taking on a dual role as the disturbed Mirando sisters.\u00a0 Jake Gyllenhaal is hard to recognize as he plays the nerdy and conflicted public face of the corporation.\u00a0 But Seo-Hyun Ahn comes off as the most authentic character next to Okja.\u00a0 As Mija, Ahn convinces us that she truly loves the beast, which draws us in and makes us care.<\/p>\n

While maybe not as epic as \u201cSnowpiercer,\u201d \u201cOkja\u201d is a very solid entry in the Joon-ho Bong canon and indispensable viewing for fans of his fine work.\u00a0 It\u2019s an obvious futuristic satire skewering meat industry as well as genetically engineered food.\u00a0 This film has a clear agenda, which might make you think twice before frying up that thick marbleized slab of salty bacon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joon-ho Bong’s latest lands at Netflix, and it’s worth savoring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4377"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4382,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4377\/revisions\/4382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}