Okja (2017) Reviews

• Okja, a whole new look on livestock

  kassymedina1232017-06-29

  I have never cried so much, after watching Okja it really opened my eyes to what really happens to livestock in the world. If you are an animal lover i suggest you watch this. If you want to know the reason why a lot of people are vegan you should watch this. After watching this I decided to cut back on meat slowly until i completely cut it off. It's an inspiration, thank you so much to the creators.

  More

• Bold, Brilliant, and might just turn you Vegan

  speakingthequeens2017-06-28

  Bong Joon Ho is without a doubt one of the top five or ten working directors today. When it comes to juggling genre and tone almost no one is his equal. With an all-star international cast and its production by Netflix, this may be his most accessible movie yet; however, it may also be his most bizarre. It's the kind of movie that will leave you laughing one minute, crying the next, and then raising your eyebrows the next. It's so refreshing to see a film not conform to easy plot points and pandering like this film could have done so many times. Rather it takes tonal and story risks that consistently pay off. It helps that it maintains a solid satirical tone throughout allowing even the dysfunctional and reprehensible characters to remain interesting and some even likable. The actors are all terrific, particularly Ahn Seo Hung in her film debut. She keeps the emotional component grounded throughout the film and provides the most resonating moments. The only performer who may not resonate with everyone is Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal goes all out insane for his role and while I enjoyed the lunacy, many will not be fans. My only complaint was that some of the scenes with Tilda Swinton descended into too much exposition which hinders some of the pacing. Despite the familiarity of the story, it will consistently sneak up on you with wonderful unexpected moments. Its another example of the daring and beautiful films coming from Korea, the best country for cinema in the past decade. If studios don't want to lose out to Netflix, they need to be willing to back the same kind of talent and allow for the same kind of artistic freedom. Pro-tip: Watch past the end credits

  More

• You Won't Regret Watching This

  JJettK2017-06-28

  Being a fan of the director's work, I built this movie a bit too much up in my head. But honestly -- it delivered on everything. It's funny, it's sad; there are happy moments, and deep emotional ones. But despite the drama and comedy going on in this, it also addresses problems going on in our world, and really made me think about these issues. If you're a fan of the director's previous work, especially "The Host," then you won't be disappointed. Even if you're not familiar with his work, you won't be disappointed. If you can get past the slight weirdness of this movie (which might not fit everyone's taste), I can promise you that you won't regret watching this.

  More

• A netflix original that is worth your time

  mjkhail2017-06-29

  I wasn't expecting to like this very much, but I loved it. There is no much to say about it but to give it a shot and enjoy it. 9/10. It makes you think about many things, specially the treatment with have with animals and the relationship with our food consumption.

• A technically outstanding but otherwise mediocre film

  jamesrupert20142017-07-11

  "Okja" is a heavy-handed and somewhat simplistic critique of the meat industry in which, due to a highly contrived plot, a young girl's beloved pet 'super-pig' ends up at the abattoir. The satire is neither subtle (I assume that "Mirando" was as close to "Monsanto" as the producers' lawyers would allow) nor clever (the wicked capitalists are just stupid and greedy strawmen) and the characters played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton are over-the-top to a point of being almost unwatchable. These weakness are unfortunate, because if the story, script and acting were up to the level of the outstanding special effects, the movie might have become a classic children's film. The take-home message of "Okja" is pretty blatant and judging by some of the gushing comments about this film, director Joon-ho Bong was often 'preaching to the choir', but I don't think that the film is either clever or 'real' enough to actually change peoples' minds about meat ("Babe" didn't and an actual piglet is a more sympathetic character than a CGI hippo-pig, however well rendered (excuse the pun)). Also undermining the story and the message is the frequent and gratuitous use of profanity, which seems to have been included more for cheap laughs than for story or character development, and seems out of place in what struck me as basically a movie for the kids.

  More