The mixed messages of Okja

It seemed apt, after watching the horrible horse abattoir video on 7.30 last week, that I should watch the Netflix anti-industrial meat movie Okja, which has been out for a year and two and was pretty well reviewed.  So I finally did, last weekend.

Made by the well known Korean director Bong Joon-ho, it has a lot going for it:

*  it looks a million bucks, as they say.  The CGI for the title (giant, genetically modified, pig) character is nearly always completely convincing, and many action sequences look like they would have cost a lot to stage.  It's a terrific looking, well directed, film:



* Tilda Swinton gets to act over the top in her usual scene stealing fashion.  As I have written before, there is something so distinctive about her looks and acting that I can't get my eyes off her in any scene she's in.  She also has a co-producer credit, which surprised me.

* the ending leaves mixed emotions, but at least it's not a complete downer like Bong's Train to Busan.  [Sorry, I thought he directed it, but it was Yeon Sang-ho.]

On the other hand, as some critics noted, the changing tone of the film is pretty eccentric, and sort of puzzling.

The key point is that, for a film which seems for the most part to be intended to make the audience feel guilty about eating meat, the vegan activists are portrayed as well intentioned but both a bit dumb, and too  extreme, not to mention capable of violence.  They don't come out of the movie as bad as Big Meat, but their often unflattering portrayal leaves the film with somewhat confusing messaging.

I wondered whether Bong was a vegan or vegetarian and wrote the movie to promote that diet, but I have read that he only became a temporary vegan for a couple of months after visiting an abattoir for research.   And he pointed out that the kindly girl lead (human) character is not a vegetarian either - she eats fish and chicken in the film.   Fair enough:  but the film is definitely meant to make us feel sorry for the pig like animals awaiting slaughter.

Speaking of which -

SPOILER ALERT FOR ENDING

given that I did know the terrible ending of Train to Busan, I had no confidence at all about the fate of Okja itself at the climax of the film.   In fact, if it was meant to really hit people hard as a way of putting them off meat, it would have ended differently.   But maybe Bong decided that would be a step too far - and audiences could react against the movie.   I guess most viewers would feel like me:  both somewhat relieved at the ending, but also that it undercut somewhat the apparent intention of the film.  The final scenes do seem a bit flat, and Okja's friends did not get the release they also deserved.

As I say, pretty mixed messaging, but still well worth watching.