OKJA (2017)

Something of an outlier for Korean director Bong Joon Ho.  Less in mixed tone, language or scope; instead, outlier status by way of being his first major disappointment.  Coarse and obvious, this social satire, KING KONG/’33 meets BABE/95 meets any ol’ Boy-and-his-Dog film misses badly.  Here, boy and dog replaced by genetically engineered giant pig (mmm, ersatz bacon!) and focus-group engineered little girl unaware the beloved beast she’s raising on Grandpa’s isolated farm is not there as pet, but as munchable.  Trying for a comically cutting indictment of capitalist cutthroats (Tilda Swinton², Shirley Henderson, Jake Gyllenhaal), Joon-Ho lets the baddies overplay like mad.  (Only his second English-language film; perhaps he didn’t notice.)  Hoodwinked by a Keystone Kops Kluster of Animal Rights terrorists (Paul Dano, Lily Collins, Steven Yeun) who abduct girl & pig before their big NYC introduction.  Naturally, everything goes wrong on both sides before righting itself with a baldly foreshadowed Golden coup de théâtre.  And while much of the CGI-to-live interaction comes off perfectly, the CGI beast itself has already lost its technical dazzle.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK:  Bong Joon Ho was quickly back up to speed on the award-winning PARASITE/’19.  Far less known, his second (and first great) film, MEMORIES OF MURDER equally deserves a look.  (BTW: Note he’s Joon-ho Bong in that Write-Up; try both spellings if you’re using a Search Engine to find titles.)  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2014/06/salinui-chueok-memories-of-murder-2003.html

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/LINK:  Unlikely protein source also a major plot point in Bong Joon Ho’s debut pic BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE / FLANDERSUI GAE/’00.  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2020/04/barking-dogs-never-bite-flandersui-gae.html