Okja
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
Written by Bong Joon Ho, Jon Ronson
Starring Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal
Release Date June 28th, 2017
Bong Joon-ho’s Okja is more than a Netflix fantasy about a girl and her super pig—it’s a bold, genre-bending masterpiece that exposes the hidden horrors of the food industry while celebrating love, friendship, and resistance.
A Netflix Film That Defies Easy Description
Okja is a movie that resists simple categorization. On the surface, it looks like a children’s adventure: a young girl and her oversized animal friend fighting to stay together against greedy adults. But this surface-level description undersells the film entirely.
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, one of the most daring and original filmmakers of our time, Okja is a razor-sharp blend of satire, fantasy, and social commentary. Beneath its colorful imagery lies one of the most pointed critiques of corporate greed and the food industry ever put on screen.
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The Mirando Corporation and Its Super Pig Campaign
At the center of Okja is the Mirando Corporation, a multinational giant attempting to rebrand its image from destructive polluter to eco-friendly innovator. CEO Lucy Mirando (a gleefully unhinged Tilda Swinton) leads the charge with a PR campaign promoting a so-called miracle of modern science: the “super pig.”
According to Mirando’s marketing spin, these pigs are environmentally sustainable and a solution to world hunger. But beneath the corporate sheen lies a disturbing truth—the animals have been genetically engineered for maximum size, productivity, and taste.
To sell this lie to the public, Lucy launches a global contest. Twenty-five farmers across the world will raise a super pig, and after ten years, the “best” pig will be chosen. It’s nothing more than a marketing ploy—but one that sets the stage for the film’s most powerful relationship.
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Mija and Okja: A Bond Stronger Than Corporations
Ten years later, high in the mountains of South Korea, we meet Mija (Ahn Seo Hyun), a young girl who has spent her life caring for Okja, the largest and healthiest of the Mirando pigs. Their bond is pure and deeply moving—Okja is not just livestock, but family.
When Mirando’s flamboyant zoologist Dr. Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal, hilariously channeling both Steve Irwin and Bill Nye) arrives to claim Okja for the final contest in America, Mija’s world is shattered. Determined not to lose her best friend, she embarks on a rescue mission that quickly transforms into a dark and unflinching journey through the machinery of the food industry.
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Bong Joon-ho’s Genre-Bending Vision
To describe Okja in straightforward plot terms does the film a disservice. This is a movie best experienced with fresh eyes, free of spoilers. What makes it so striking is Bong Joon-ho’s ability to twist familiar genres into something completely new.
Working with cinematographer Darius Khondji (Se7en, Amour, The Lost City of Z), Bong creates a film that visually resembles a children’s movie, with bright colors and heightened characters. But this playful exterior makes the film’s darker turns—the cruelty of corporations, the realities of industrialized slaughter—even more devastating.
It’s this juxtaposition that gives Okja its staying power. You laugh, you feel wonder, and then you recoil in horror. Few films in recent memory have juggled tones so effectively.
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A Masterpiece with a Message
Bong Joon-ho is a filmmaker known for precision and purpose, and Okja is no exception. The glossy production design and stunning CGI aren’t just technical polish; they’re deliberate choices meant to mirror the slick surface of modern consumer culture.
By using Hollywood spectacle to tell a story about exploitation and cruelty, Bong forces viewers to confront uncomfortable truths. Okja isn’t just entertainment—it’s a mirror held up to the way we consume, packaged in the form of a heartfelt tale about a girl and her pig.
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Final Thoughts
Okja is one of the most original films of 2017 and a defining work in Bong Joon-ho’s career. It’s playful yet brutal, heartfelt yet devastating. It reminds us that movies can entertain while also challenging us to think deeply about the systems we live in—and the costs hidden behind convenience.
For viewers willing to embrace its oddities, Okja offers not just a thrilling adventure but also a bold commentary on the world we take for granted.
Streaming now on Netflix, Okja is a must-watch.
