Okja

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Okja

Promotional poster

Directed by Bong Joon-ho

 Dede Gardner
Produced by
 Jeremy Kleiner
 Lewis Taewan Kim
 Dooho Choi
 Seo Woo-sik
 Bong Joon-ho
 Ted Sarandos

Screenplay by  Bong Joon-ho

 Jon Ronson

Story by Bong Joon-ho

Starring  Tilda Swinton

 Paul Dano
 Ahn Seo-hyun
 Byun Hee-bong
  Steven Yeun
 Lily Collins
 Yoon Je-moon
 Shirley Henderson
 Daniel Henshall
 Devon Bostick
 Choi Woo-shik
 Giancarlo Esposito
 Jake Gyllenhaal

Music by Jaeil Jung

Cinematography Darius Khondji

Edited by Yang Jin-mo

Production  Plan B Entertainment

companies  Lewis Pictures
 Kate Street Picture Company

Distributed by  Netflix
(International)
 Next Entertainment World
(South Korea)

Release date  May 19, 2017 (Cannes)

 June 28, 2017 (United States)
 June 29, 2017 (South Korea)

Running time 120 minutes[1]

Country  South Korea

 United States

Language  English
 Korean

Budget $50 million[2]

Box office $2.1 million[3]

Okja is a 2017 action-adventure film directed by Bong Joon-ho and written by Joon-ho and Jon
Ronson. The film stars an ensemble cast headed by South Korean child actress Ahn Seo-hyun,
alongside Hollywood actors Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, and Jake
Gyllenhaal.
The film competed for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film
Festival.[4][5] It was released on Netflixon June 28, 2017.
 Contents
[hide]

 1Plot
 2Cast
 3Production
 4Release
o 4.1Box office
o 4.2Critical response
 5References
 6External links

Plot[edit]
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively
detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and
making it more concise. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this
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In 2007, self-defined environmentalist Lucy Mirando becomes CEO of the Mirando Corporation,
succeeding her controversial grandfather, her father and her cruel twin sister Nancy. She
announces that they have been breeding a special kind of super pig. The twenty-six produced
specimens are sent to as many farmers in different locations around the world, and ten years
later, one of them will be crowned the winner of a competition to breed the best pig.
In 2017, a young girl named Mija lives in the countryside of South Korea with her grandfather and
their super pig, Okja. They are visited by Mirando spokesperson and zoologist Dr. Johnny
Wilcox, who declares Okja the best super pig and announces they will take her to New York City.
Mija's grandfather presents her with a gold pig and explains to her that he saved up money to
buy the solid gold item to replace Okja when she was taken away. Devastated, Mija runs away
to Seoul to find Okja, where she sees her as she is being loaded onto a truck. Mija chases down
the truck but it is intercepted by another truck, run by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). In the
resulting chaos Mija and Okja run away but are eventually saved by the ALF, led by Jay.
Recognizing that Mija is Okja's owner, Jay uses another ALF member, K, as a translator to tell
Mija that their plan is to put a recording device in Okja's ear and let her be re-captured by the
Mirando corporation to show how brutally they treat their animals. Mija tells them to return her to
the mountains but K deliberately lies, leading the group to believe Mija is in agreement with their
plan. They abandon her, and Okja is recaptured.
Meanwhile, footage of Okja and Mija running through the streets of Seoul has gone viral. To
minimise the damage, Lucy pays for Mija to come to New York to be reunited onstage with her
pig. Okja is taken to a laboratory in New Jersey where she is forcibly bred with another super pig
and bits of meat are extracted from her flesh for a taste test. Members of the ALF overhear the
recording through the device they placed in Okja's ear. After the ALF see the forced breeding, K
reveals he lied to the rest of the group about Mija's support of the plan in order to continue the
mission. In response, Jay attacks K, and expels him from the ALF.
In New York City, Mija is forced to agree to the wishes of the Mirando corporation. Jay slips into
her room and tells her that they still plan to rescue Okja while on stage. A parade is put on by the
Mirando Corporation, who give out free meat in the street. Mija is reunited with Okja who, blinded
and battered does not recognize her and attacks. In the resulting chaos, Jay tries to hurt Okja,
but Mija prevents him from doing so, calming Okja down so that she recognizes Mija. A video of
the mistreatment of Okja is screened by the ALF to the public, who quickly turn on the Mirando
Corporation. Mija and the ALF attempt to escape with Okja but fail. Okja is recaptured and the
ALF members are arrested. Nancy, having returned to control the company, closes the lab,
scraps all of Lucy's promotional marketing, and starts full-time operations at their
slaughterhouse. Jay and Mija are rescued by K, who had 'translations are sacred' tattooed on his
arm.
Jay and K take Mija to find Okja in a mass slaughterhouse. The group search for Okja but are
unable to find her until Mija sees her going up the ramp to the slaughterhouse. In order to save
Okja, she runs through the killing plant and sees many dead super pigs. Mija sees Okja as she is
about to be slaughtered and shows the Mirando employee a photograph of herself with a baby
Okja. Nancy arrives and tells Mija that Okja must be slaughtered. Mija offers the golden pig to
Nancy in exchange for Okja's life. Nancy agrees to the deal whilst subsequently having Jay and
K arrested. As Mija and Okja are leaving, they see many more pigs being led to slaughter. A pair
of superpigs manages to push their newborn through the fence, and Okja hides it within her
mouth to take it away.
Back in the countryside, Mija resumes her life with her grandfather, Okja, and the new piglet. In a
post-credits scene, Jay is released from prison and gets on board a bus with K and the other
members of the organization, who reveal that the ALF will be disrupting a major meeting
involving all of the Mirando shareholders.

Cast[edit]
 Ahn Seo-hyun as Mija, a young farmgirl who takes care of Okja.
 Tilda Swinton as Lucy Mirando, the eccentric powerful CEO of the Mirando Corporation
looking to profit from Okja.
 Swinton also plays Nancy Mirando, Lucy's twin sister, the cruel former CEO of the
Mirando Corporation.
 Paul Dano as Jay, the leader of an animal-rights activist group, the Animal Liberation
Front (ALF).
 Jake Gyllenhaal as Johnny Wilcox, a disturbed zoologist and TV personality.
 Byun Hee-bong as Heebong, Mija's grandfather.
 Steven Yeun as K, an animal-rights activist and ALF member, who serves as translator
between Mija and the rest of the ALF.
 Lily Collins as Red, an animal-rights activist and ALF member.
 Yoon Je-moon as Mundo Park
 Shirley Henderson as Jennifer, Lucy's assistant.
 Daniel Henshall as Blond, animal-rights activist, ALF member, and boyfriend of Silver.
 Devon Bostick as Silver, animal-rights activist, ALF member, and boyfriend of Blond.
 Choi Woo-shik as Kim Woo-shik, a young driver for the Mirando Corporation.
 Giancarlo Esposito as Frank Dawson, an associate with the Mirando Corporation.

Production[edit]
In October 2015, it was announced that director Bong Joon-ho's next film will feature a South
Korean female lead and a cast of English-speaking supporting actors, with filming set in New
York.[6] On November 10, 2015 it was picked up by Netflix and Plan B Entertainment with a
budget of $50 million, with production starting in late 2016 for release in 2017.[2]Darius Khondji
joined the film as cinematographer in February 2016.[7]
Bong sought out Welsh author Jon Ronson to help with the script. Working with a rough draft of
the story, Ronson helped develop the English-speaking characters.[8]
Principal photography began on April 22, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea.[9][10] It moved to Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada for more filming on July 31, 2016.[11]
Director Bong Joon-ho has called Okja "a very shy and introverted animal. It's a unique animal
that we've not seen before."[12]

Release[edit]
Cast and director at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

Okja had its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2017.[13] During the first
few minutes of screening, the film was met with boos, mixed with applause, during its premiere at
the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, once when the Netflix logo appeared on screen and again during
a technical glitch, (which got the movie projected in an incorrect aspect ratio for its first seven
minutes).[14][15][16] for which the festival later issued an apology to the filmmakers.[17] However,
despite the initial negative response, the film received a four-minute standing ovation.[18]
The film was released on Netflix on June 28, 2017.[19]
Box office[edit]
Several independent theatres in South Korea screened the film to much success, with earnings
totalling 2,271,855,400 KRW (2,128,019 USD) from 300,953 tickets sold.[20][21]
Critical response[edit]
On the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85%
based on 191 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads,
"Okja sees Bong Joon-ho continuing to create defiantly eclectic entertainment – and still hitting
more than enough of his narrative targets in the midst of a tricky tonal juggling
act."[22] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 76 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating
"generally favorable reviews".[23]
Critic A.O. Scott wrote, "Okja is a miracle of imagination and technique, and Okja insists, with
abundant mischief and absolute sincerity, that she possesses a soul."[24]

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ Jagernauth, Kevin (April 13, 2017). "Sofia Coppola, Todd Haynes, Michael Haneke,
Bong-Joon Ho & 'Twin Peaks' Lead 2017 Cannes Film Festival Line Up". ThePlaylist.net.
Retrieved April 13, 2017.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b Trumbore, Dave (November 10, 2015). "Netflix Backs Bong Joon-ho's 'Okja' with
$50 Million". Collider. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
3. Jump up^ "Hostiles (2017)". The Numbers. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
4. Jump up^ "The 2017 Official Selection". Cannes. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
5. Jump up^ "2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup: Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, 'Twin
Peaks' and More". IndieWire. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
6. Jump up^ Trumbore, Dave (November 5, 2015). "'Okja': Bong Joon-ho's Monster Movie Adds
Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, and Bill Nighy". Collider. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
7. Jump up^ "Bong Joon-ho, Netflix and Darius Khondji join forces for Okja". Asian Movie Pulse.
Retrieved April 26, 2016.
8. Jump up^ Schonfeld, Zach (June 17, 2017) http://www.newsweek.com/2017/06/30/okja-jon-
ronson-veganism-heroism-corporate-harm-626829.html
9. Jump up^ Evry, Max (April 22, 2016). "Okja Begins Filming with Tilda Swinton and Jake
Gyllenhaal". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
10. Jump up^ "Bong Joon Ho's Okja Starts Filming with Tilda Swinton". Collider. Retrieved April
26,2016.
11. Jump up^ Trumbore, Dave (2016-06-12). "The Predator, Okja, Death Note Filming Dates
Revealed". Collider.com. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
 12. Jump up^ "Okja: exclusive images from Netflix's 2017 thriller starring Tilda Swinton and Jake
Gyllenhaal - NME". NME. December 22, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
13. Jump up^ Tartaglione, Nancy; Evans, Greg (April 13, 2017). "Cannes Lineup: Todd Haynes,
Sofia Coppola, Noah Baumbach, 'Twin Peaks'". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
14. Jump up^ Lang, Brent (May 19, 2017). "Cannes Apologizes For 'Okja' Screening Technical
Glitches". Variety. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
15. Jump up^ Ryan, Patrick (May 19, 2017). "Cannes: Netflix's controversial 'Okja' gets booed for
technical snafu". USA Today. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
16. Jump up^ Waxman, Sharon; Pond, Steve (May 19, 2017). "Netflix's 'Okja' Booed at First Press
Screening in Cannes". The Wrap. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
17. Jump up^ Mumford, Gwilym (May 19, 2017). "Cannes apologises after technical problems and
booing disrupts Netflix film Okja". The Guardian. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
18. Jump up^ Gardner, Chris (May 19, 2017). "Cannes: Netflix's 'Okja' Premiere Gets Four-Minute
Standing Ovation After Press Screening Snafu". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May
22, 2017.
19. Jump up^ "First Teaser for Bong Joon-ho's Okja, Coming to Netflix". ComingSoon.net. February
28, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
20. Jump up^ "옥자(영화)". 나무위키. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
21. Jump up^ "Okja". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
22. Jump up^ "Okja (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
23. Jump up^ "Okja reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
24. Jump up^ Scott, A. O. (2017-06-27). "Review: In 'Okja,' a Girl and Her Pig Take on the Food
Industrial Complex". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-06-30.

External links[edit]
 Official website
 Okja on IMDb

[show]

Films directed by Bong Joon-ho

[show]

Netflix films and documentaries

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 Films directed by Bong Joon-ho
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