Mija: ? [We tear down and take animals from, umm slaughterhouses and, um laboratories Thats why we also took Okja.]. Okja (/okd/; Korean:) is a 2017 science-fantasy action-adventure film directed by Bong Joon-ho with a screenplay by Bong and Jon Ronson from a story by Bong. Berlinale 2023 Highlights, Part Two: Reality, Manodrome, The Adults, Inside, Golda, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson Feted at SBIFF 2023, Revisiting Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Tragically Common: Jamie Dack, Lily McInerny and Jonathan Tucker on Palm Trees and Power Lines. These two modes might seem incompatible. We explore. Okja loves Mija and Mija loves Okja, but their sacred bond is governed by a ticking clock. You are self-reliant, confident, and energetic.". Symbolism. (For further context, Bong's 2019 megahit Parasite was made for roughly one-fifth of Okja . Despite all the trauma and devastation Mija and Okja have experienced, though, the ending is hopeful. The ambitious screenplay includes discussions of corporate responsibility, the ethics of meat consumption, the acceptable threshold of animal cruelty, and other matters that you might not expect to see find in a film so simply told and lavishly produced. Pigs recur as a symbol for resourcesand not just superpigs. While K confronts the viewer with the non-neutrality of language and translation, the linguistic nature of Mija and Okjas relationship is entirely hidden from the viewer. [pockets gold pig and puts sunglasses on again as she walks away with her entourage] Make sure our customer and her purchase get home safely. I see you, Bong. You instantly give in to the cutesy bond between the two, and grow empathetic towards them even though nothing to incite that empathy has happened in the opposite direction. I believe that the mismatch between Ks tattoo and Jays words is deliberate. We promise to bring her back to you. The monster was created after radioactive waste was dumped on a US military base. That is why most of his films worked, that is why Okja works. Hot dogs. Director Bong Joon-ho sneaking in some symbolism with Okja staring out the transport truck, looking at all those gravestones. The premise of the movie Okja is simple: A corporation develops a genetically modified six-ton "super-pig" to solve world hunger, then a girl named Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) adopts one named Okja as . Once again, when viewed as symbols and metaphors, this tug-of-war is not about animals at all: it is about control over what to do with meat, or the bodies of the colonized. The bonkers action-adventure from Korean filmmaker . As Dr. Johnny Wilcox ascends the final steps and gripes loudly about the trek, Mija is star-struck by the appearance of the world-famous host of Animal Magic. Frank: It wont happen again. It is witnessing your family being dragged into a slaughterhouse," he said. CANNES, France - Going into Friday morning's press screening, most people expected at least some vitriol for Netflix's Okja. We never hear exactly what she's whispering, but the tight closeups of Okja's mesmerized eye show us that she's listening intently and gets the gistthat the girl's words matter and make sense even though they don't speak the same language. An all-star cast including Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, and Jake Gyllenhaal is led by An Seo Hyun as Mija, a South Korean girl growing up on an Edenic mountainside with her grandfather and best . Translations are sacred, after all, is predicated on a deeper assumption: that there are multiple narratives to be translated, and multiple people to do the work. Back-to-back dictatorships coincided with strong pro-democracy demonstrations. She's playful, affectionate, and inseparable from Mija, and unlike Ho's monster in "The Host," is harmless and benign. Okja has a limited run in theaters but is available on-demand on Netflix Streaming.. South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho has made another sci-fi thriller that follows in the train of Snowpiercer, a dystopian masterwork illustrating the moral rot of dividing the population between a winning class versus everyone else as the scum of the earth, and The Host, a monster movie as well as an . July 25, 2019. No one takes her seriously when she makes the request. Ks introduction makes his relationship with Korean clear: Dialogue is in Korean. Mija and Okja spend most of the day living a laid back life roaming the forests and just enjoying their quaint existence in the hills. With Tilda Swinton, Sheena Kamal, Michael Mitton, Colm Hill. [So what youre saying is that I have to let them take Okja to America? Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Rachel Min Park, who provided English translations for lines originally in Korean, as well as invaluable linguistic and cultural insight. Working with a rough draft of the story, Ronson helped develop the English-speaking characters.[8]. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Lucy Mirando (in Okja, 2017). The pig's fearful rampage through an underground shopping mall in Seoul is a marvel of composition and editing, creating surprise through clever camera angles and unexpected cuts while giving us a glimpse of the bland consumer paradise that companies like Mirando depend on. Her grandfather gives Mija a gold pig, explaining he saved up to replace Okja when she was taken away. Announcing they have been breeding a special kind of "super pig", 26 specimens are sent to farmers around the world, and ten years later, one will be crowned the winner as the best pig. We do deals, and these are the deals we do. With the arrival of washed-up celebrity zoologist Dr Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his team, Okja is taken away from her family and thrust back into the hands of her creators, the Mirando meat corporation led by Orwellian nightmare CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) where her unfortunate fate is sealed. Every parent's mileage will vary. She quite literally faces off against gatekeeping. When hes rescued in turn, the driver of the getaway truck turns out to be K, who shows him his new tattoo: Translations are Sacred., Ks freshly tattooed forearm showing raised black script reading Translations are Sacred. (Screenshot: Netflix / Plan B Entertainment.). [to Mija] My name is Jay. As revealed in an opening flashback, Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton),the CEO of the Mirando Corporation, seeded the world with prototype pigs and announced that when they'd all spent ten years growing to maturity, the company would choose the finest environment in which to raise them, the better to provide the world with cheap but high-quality meat and meat products. Lucky numbers. Its all edible. Support the Show for $1: https://www.patreon.com/TheAtZShow Twitter: https://twitter.com/theatzsh. For ten years she has lived an innocent, Eden-like existence in the company of the young girl Mija (An Seo Hyun) in a remote South Korean forest. 57. A repeated image shows the girl leaning into the pig's floppy ear and whispering to calm her down. But Commonly Okja is ( )+( )=. The trading of the pig for gold is a symbol that things can be different, and shows us that corporations are willing to provide as long as they profit from it. These harrowing moments are always tied to the characters' wants as well as to the film's belief in showing compassion for creatures lower on the evolutionary chain. The Mexicans love the feet. English acts as a symbol of power and assimilation inOkja. The movie opens with her and Okja adventuring through a dense forest. He also bagged the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay awards for the said film. With billions of dollars at their behest, you cant really predict what Netflix has in mind. Not everything is as it seems in the film, which is part of what makes it so gripping. Jay: [to K] Shh. I do not for one second claim that she didnt feel empathy for the other super pigs out there that would be lost to the blade soon, but unbeknownst to her, I am not sure if she is fully aware of the way the cogwheel of the world turns. Englishs role as a symbol of power becomes more obvious in Okjas initial rescue. In doing so, Bong also holds up a mirror to the hypocrisy of the society and to us as consumers. It is of course a farce and a decorative cover up for the genetically mutated pigs, which sadly is the reality of the world we live in and the food we consume. K: . Okja is a gentle giant, bred to tread softly upon the earth - to "consume less feed, produce less excretions", but (most importantly) to "taste fucking good". [points]. Hollywood may only now be opening its doors to South Korean cinema, but the door has always been open in the other direction. We have a deal. [7], Bong sought out Welsh author Jon Ronson to help with the script. Nancy arrives and orders the slaughter to go on nonetheless, just as Mija offers her the solid gold pig her grandfather gave her, in exchange for Okjas life. Rescue Okja, replace the black box, and let Mirando retake Okja. 58. Any remaining errors are mine alone. It is also the tale of animal rights activists doing battle with a Monsanto-like corporation that wants to turn said pig, allegedly the cutest in a batch whipped up by genetic scientists, into a poster animal for a revolutionary line of meat products. K shows Mija photos of the lab where Okja was created as Jay explains that everything shes been told about the superpigs is a lie. Jay: Well, if thats how you feel, call yourself something else and not the ALF, and get out of this truck. Bong looked to a variety of real animals for inspiration. [shrugs] They fucked, not me. Hmong-, Cambodian-, Laotian-, and Vietnamese-Americans are among those who have had their lives disrupted by the U.S. sowing war in Southeast Asia. Project Mc2. If . . DeSantis won't say he's running. meaning it needs to increase production . Toward the end of the movie, K pops back up with a fresh tattoo that reads . [24], On the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 236 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.5/10. K isnt a neutral and passive converter of meaning. Netflix's new film about the upending of the livestock industry has raised the hackles of cinema's old guard </p> <p> [Yes, yes, yes. She said, I wanna take Okja back to the mountains. I lied. The pigs were presented to the media as a "discovery" even though they were devised in Mirando's labs. In NYC, Mija has to comply with the Mirando Corp. Jay slips into her room and tells her they plan to rescue Okja while on stage. As a student himself, Bong explored Asian cinema; after he graduated, he debuted with Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), then went on to direct Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Mother (2009), Snowpiercer (2013), and finally, Okja (2017) and Parasite (2019). Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, and Tilda Swinton star in the monster movie Okja from writer-director Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer). But Bong insists Okja isn't intended to be a fiery screen statement against eating animals. Easily sensed by even a casual viewer, Okja is not your casual viewing Saturday Netflix feature. K, Mija, and Jay travel to a processing plant in search of Okja, and find her at the processing plant, being forced up a ramp into a slaughterhouse. And there are many upsetting images of animal abuse, particularly towards the endnot as harsh as what you find through a YouTube search, but nevertheless unusual for commercial cinema. K: [We We umm fight people that bo bother animals] What was the second thing you said? "In my movie, Mija's favorite food is chicken stew. "Okja's eyes, how clear they are, the innocence, the kindness within that's embedded in her eyes," Bong says. Mirando, meanwhile, is a more straightforward manifestation of the brutal capitalism and consumerism espoused by the United States. You are a unique individual. We are dependent on its existence for our own, with all the complicity and trappings that that entails. But considering all things, Bong wants you to think that you have just been delivered a warm fuzzy ending, while it would seem anything but. Lucy and Nancy, being twins, are also two sides of capitalism as it manifests in the United States: Lucy represents White fragility, while Nancy represents White supremacy. A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating beast named Okja. Okja. K: . [12] Bong has called Okja "a very shy and introverted animal. Okja is seemingly an intelligent creature with enhanced empathy and emotional connect, as we see them not only live together, but connect together too. The new Netflix movie Okja feels like an impossible mashup, as if Hayao Mayazaki, John Carpenter, and a contemporary comedy director like Paul Feig all teamed up to make a . When he enrolled at Yonsei University as a sociology student, the pro-democracy movement was reaching its apex, culminating in violent protests often led by student activists. 9, 10, 20, 21 and 40 are considered the luckiest numbers for the name Okja. Please note that Black Chalk was here exactly on time. The environment may have been a running theme but sinister notions of capitalism, greed and the global economy also played a role. The driver is an apathetic twenty-something surnamed Kim (Choi Woo-shik). The film received positive reviews from critics. Rather than letting himself feel the full horror of being complicit in Okjas abuse, Jay offloads that guilt onto K and strips him of his power and resources, as symbolized by his equipment. She agrees to spare Okjas life, and as they are walking out, in a scene that is literally all kinds of heartbreaking, she sees hundreds of other super pigs on the row for slaughter and nowhere to go. Maybe it is Okjas CGI design, or Ahn Seo-hyuns wondrous eyes, or the beautiful hills and forests of Korea, but its all very alluring, and you instantly know that even though all seems well now, there are going to be moments when your engagement with the central characters is going to be put to the test. OKJA does not talk, but makes animal sounds, grunt. But Rian is the kind of magical person who says, 'Oh, I'll just ask Bong.' Meaning Bong Joon-ho who wrote and directed Okja and Parasite and Snowpiercer, and who Rian is friends with. In saying so, I have to commend Bong again on delivering us a protagonist who is all sorts of endearing, yet tucked away from the easily repugnant modern world and its functioning. The bond between girl and beast is sweet and strong but their peaceful life together sadly doesn't last long. Members of the Animal Liberation Federation (ALF, just like the sitcom alien) briefly kidnap Okja and fit her with a camera that they hope will expose the company's animal rights abuses. "Many people have a puppy. The answer to which we dont know yet. After the ALF sees the footage, K reveals that he lied to the rest of the group about Mija's support of the plan. He crowns Okja the best super pig and reveals that they will take Okja to New York the same day. The pig trusts her friend. Mija, who is unaware of the English language, is lured away by her grandfather when they are taking Okja away, and presents her with a pig figure made of solid gold, while revealing the truth to her softly by himself. While all of the ALF members jump off into the river and escape, Okja is recaptured as Mija helplessly watches on. symbolism: [noun] the art or practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations: such as. In 2017, a young girl named Mija lives in South Korea with her grandfather and their super pig, Okja. She is special: a one-nipple, hippo-pig hybrid with some manatee resemblance (since they look "incredibly innocent and kind-hearted", Bong says). The program itself is masked as an eco-friendly initiative with the genetically mutated pigs stated as having a minimal footprint on the environment, consuming less and producing less excretions. Picture this: you're deep in the wilderness, surrounded by towering trees, jagged mountains, and icy rivers. Only this one can wirelessly send a video feed to us from inside the lab. [16] During the first few minutes of its screening at its Cannes premiere, the film was met with boos mixed with some applause twice: once when the Netflix logo appeared on the screen and again during a technical glitch which projected the film in an incorrect aspect ratio for its first seven minutes. Nancy: [appearing with a group of people] This what caused the alarm? The receptionists only reply is to mime for Mija to use the phone in the lobby to dial in. "Okja" never allows its philosophical and ethical interests to shove drama or comedy off to one side. We dont want to hurt you! Parents need to know that Okja isn't a movie for kids. In this list, you'll find some of the most prominent symbols as well as learn about what each of them means. That's not the only central message of Okja, however. Jay: We inflict economic damage on those who profit from their misery. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. While one can definitely interpret this as an open ending,Joon-ho Bonghas not indicated any inclination towards making a sequel. I see this ending as a suggestion that family reunification and the ability of the marginalized to speak for ourselves is what leads to peace. [22] The movie was released as part of the Criterion Collection in July 2022. When the ten year mark arrives, Mija's grandfather tells her that he had to turn Okja over to the company, but that she can take solace in his compensatory gift to her, a tiny gold pig. I didn't make this film to oppose meat. Their star super pig, which is why weve made this. Tenderly, Mija lifts up Okjas ear and whispers something to her, inaudible to the audience. When Jay learns that K deliberately lied, he starts to beat him up, telling him to "never mistranslate!". Although it doesnt come through in the subtitles, Ks Korean is very elementary, typical of what a young child might say. As part of damage repair resulting from the fiasco on the streets of Seoul involving Okja, Mija, Mirando and the ALF, Mirando decides to stage a reunion for Okja and Mija to reduce PR damage and as an image exercise, they have Mija flown over to New York to be a part of the best super pig crowning. The film is about a young girl who raised a genetically modified "super pig" (the titular Okja) and, after she is taken to the United States, goes on a mission to rescue her from mistreatment at the hands of the meat industry. Bong Joon-ho directs with a transnationalist, Korean lens on Hollywood tropes and expectations; his work is part of a long conversation South Korea has been having about Hollywood and the United States cultural influence on the world. Taken as a whole, I read Okja as a story that reveals the atrocities inherent in linguistic assimilation, even as it acknowledges that the ability to use English can be a tool of liberation for the marginalized. Everything isnt sweet as roses though, since by the end of the film, youd realise that the film took you on that emotional rollercoaster of a ride only to violently throw you off without any warning: perhaps thats the best way a twist is delivered, especially when its a true one and the message needs to be driven home, one way or another. When Mija learns that Okja is being taken away to New York, she goes to the Mirando office in Seoul to plead . 59. 0:00. A worker sweeps gallons of blood into a drain in Okja. Spurred on by her rage over the betrayal, Mija smashes her piggy bank to gather the funds to go to Seoul. Jay: [while being taken away] Hey, Nancy! His latest vision Okja continues that green parable. She pounds on the glass doors and asks if the receptionist knows where Okja is. He asks another ALF member, K, to translate and tell Mija that they plan to put a recording device in Okja's ear and let her be recaptured by the Mirando Corporation to document how they mistreat animals. Phones serve as a powerful mediator of their relationship. The movie is so packed with incident and characterization that that it sometimes loses focus or wanders down alleyways it can't properly explore. Mija and Okja have a very close relationship; they spend much of their time together, and at one point, Okja saves Mija from falling off a cliff. Kims character sets the tone for the presence of English in both Okja and South Korea as a whole. We have to respect her bravery. "Okja" was a science-fiction adventure when it was released in June 2017, but two years later it would chillingly reflect the real world. We almost make Korean name in Chinese Character, but write in Korean. Big as a Buick and with a buck like a bronco, the giant gray pig named Okja is a force to be reckoned with. Now while many would question my tall claim of putting Okjas ending in the same vein as the classic Schindlers List, allow me to explain. Only then can Mija, the actual victim along with Okja, speak for herself. To their credit, the moviemakers signal right away that this isn't a film that adults can use as an electronic babysitter. Its just, plainly said, engaging. [We expose all animal abuse, but when we fight, we never hurt people. If you havent seen the film yet, head over to Netflix. Jay: Please, dont touch her! We reveal their atrocities to the public. I myself am part of that group. In a sense, the ALF is like White feminism: supposedly for the greater good of all humanity, even while its actual tactics dont account for, and indeed exploit people of color. And second, Okja's wackiness buys it enough goodwill to allow for some obvious (but charming), heavy-handed (but genuine) metaphors down the road. K: ? The video is then projected by the ALF and the parade quickly goes into a frenzy as the public denounce Mirando and its methods with their truth now revealed. Okja. . 'Okja sees Bong Joon-ho continuing to create defiantly electric entertainment- and still hitting more than enough of his narrative targets in the midst of a tricky tonal juggling act'. Mija and Okja's separation kicks off a story that follows the pig from South Korea to New York City and (parenthetically) to a plant near Paramus, New Jersey, where hundreds of other prototype pigs are kept for experimentation and eventual slaughter. Kim and a news anchor speak in English on a 24-hour US news channel. Skylanders Academy. She uses the colonizer and imperialists customs as a means to an end. </p> <p></p> <p>60. 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