Okja is a film which sees the friendship between a Korean girl and a superpig tested once the pig is taken to America to be a mascot for a food corporation.
The superpigs in the film were created by the fictional Mirando company as a new source of food. 26 of these superpigs are sent to farmers around the world to compete to see who can make the best superpig, as a publicity stunt. This is how the main character, Mija, meets Okja, her grandfather's superpig. They grow up together, but we only see them the day before Mirando comes to take Okja away. The film is based completely around Mija's friendship with Okja, so it's great that it is properly established in the day that we see them together.
After this is when the film takes a turn to following eco-terrorists, the corporate plans, developing it's vegan message, all while Mija is trying to reunite with Okja. This main chunk of the film is very entertaining, if difficult to watch at times. The difficulty comes from seeing Okja mistreated. Bring able to get a reaction out of seeing a fictional, CGI animal getting harmed shows how well the film makers were able to make Okja into a believable, effective character.
I mentioned the vegan message that is portrayed in Okja. I'm not a vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian, pescepescetarian, or anything else. I eat meat, and I'm fine with it, it's how life on Earth goes, creatures eat other creatures. So while the film does a good job at developing its vegan message, and at times it is very damming towards the processed food industry, it's not enough to make me change my diet.
In short: Okja presents a strong inter-species relationship while also effectively commenting on the commercialisation of food.
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