Who would've thought that a pig, a big one at that, would be the cutest pet a kid can have. Mija, the granddaughter of the farmer that received one of these pigs has grown up with Okja since she was a small kid. Playing under the trees, napping under the warm sun, collecting berries are all normal activities that Mija and Okja do, living life without any worries. Until the Mirando Corporation comes to collect their pig after the ten year period.
What made me really like this movie was the plot idea. How the film touched upon human's effort in buying GMO-free food and making sure what they buy were all 100% natural without any harm what so ever in making the meat. What this film address is the behind-the-scenes that aren't advertised in big corporations slogans. You often hear businesses saying something along the lines of loving their animals so dearly that they made sure there was no harm done to them and how they gave their animals the best possible life for them. But most of the time, consumers have no idea what farmers and their businesses do. They believe in whatever the packaging says and buys whatever sounds the most friendly. In the film, Mirando corporation would've been very successful if ALF did not reveal the footage of what happens when the pigs are sent to their lab.
The scene that was most impactful for me was when Mija enters the slaughterhouse and you can see the skinned pigs all hanging from the ceiling. As Mija walks through the place, you see the different process of cutting the pigs. From shooting them in the head to skinning them then to slicing them until they are packaged to what consumers see regularly. All nicely in plastic wrap, raw and waiting to be cooked and eaten. When watching that scene it almost humanized the pigs. the film portrayed Okja as this adorable pet who loves its owner and it made my heart wrench when Okja had a gun pointed to its head. It made us feel when normally we would be nonchalant when buying meat.
Another great thing?
The mix of languages and cultures we see during the film. The film had a mix of Korean and English. We also see Mija's development in her English, wherein the beginning she barely knew any English until at the end when she was able to communicate with Nancy Mirando and was able to negotiate Okja. The film shows that there is a language barrier and that mistranslation can cause big consequences, especially during the scene where K purposefully mistranslation Mija's desire to go home with Okja and instead tells Jay that she agrees with their mission. We see that K was the bridge between Mija and Jay and how important his actions were in deciding what would happen to Okja's future. The relationship between Jay and Mija showed that even with a language barrier, they can still work together towards a common goal. It was the unity that made this movie also great.
Commentaires