“We needed a miracle. And then we got one.”
A young girl named Mija is forced into a fight she never wanted when a powerful company moves to take away her closest companion, the massive animal Okja. What begins as a rescue effort quickly turns into a struggle against a system built to control, transport and exploit what it sees as valuable. The film follows Mija as she tries to protect Okja and hold on to a bond that others treat as expendable. Its story moves between urgency, grief and determination as that search grows larger than one friendship.
Okja was made by Bong Joon-ho, who shapes the story as a mix of adventure, drama and science-fiction with action elements. Ahn Seo-hyun leads the film as Mija, giving the story its emotional center through her efforts to save Okja. Tilda Swinton appears as part of the corporate world pressing in on Mija’s life, while Jake Gyllenhaal is among the figures drawn into the conflict around the animal. The cast helps ground the film’s shifting tone, moving from intimate attachment to public confrontation.
Made in South Korea, the United States and Canada in 2017, the film spans a contemporary world where a single creature becomes the focus of a much larger struggle. Its mix of live action and animation gives Okja an unusual presence, balancing realism with the scale of a fable. The tone is tense and mournful, but it also leaves room for wonder, making the film feel both playful and uneasy at once.
Okja was made by Bong Joon-ho, who shapes the story as a mix of adventure, drama and science-fiction with action elements. Ahn Seo-hyun leads the film as Mija, giving the story its emotional center through her efforts to save Okja. Tilda Swinton appears as part of the corporate world pressing in on Mija’s life, while Jake Gyllenhaal is among the figures drawn into the conflict around the animal. The cast helps ground the film’s shifting tone, moving from intimate attachment to public confrontation.
Made in South Korea, the United States and Canada in 2017, the film spans a contemporary world where a single creature becomes the focus of a much larger struggle. Its mix of live action and animation gives Okja an unusual presence, balancing realism with the scale of a fable. The tone is tense and mournful, but it also leaves room for wonder, making the film feel both playful and uneasy at once.
Reviews
7.3 / 10