Folks have been anticipatingOkjaever since it was announced as directorBong Joon Ho’s next film afterSnowpiercer, but it just kept getting better and better. First there wasJake GyllenhaalandTilda Swintonsigning on to lead the cast, then the logline: It’s the story of a young girl named Mija (An Seo Hyun) who has spent her entire life as caretaker and companion to a massive animal named Okja in the mountains of South Korea, only to find the beast stolen by the conglomerate Mirando Corporation. And now there’s a new viral video to make the wait forOkjathat much harder.
In the video we see Tilda Swinton’s character Lucy Mirando speaking about Mirando Corporation’s various dealings and do-goods. The focus eventually comes down on pigs, with Lucy—the company’s CEO—stating that the pigs that go to slaughter at Mirando Corporation dream peacefully, while other pigs have nightmares. In a stroke of brilliance, Swinton then shows us what those nightmares might be like.
It’s wonderfully weird and cheesy, and exactly the kind of flavor I was hoping to see fromOkja. The film will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, but sadly that will be one of the few times it’ll actually be exhibited on the big screen. It’s a Netflix original, and while that comes with creative freedom, Netflix has also shown an intense disinterest in pushing any of their films into actual movie theaters.
Regardless, the movie looks like a straight-up joy. Check out the viral video below.Okjaalso starsPaul Dano,Giancarlo Esposito,Steven Yeun, andLily Collinsand hits Netflix on June 28th.
Here’s the official synopsis forOkja:
For 10 idyllic years, young Mija (An Seo Hyun) has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja—a massive animal and an even bigger friend—at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But that changes when the family-owned multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation takes Okja for themselves and transports her to New York, where image obsessed and self-promoting CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) has big plans for Mija’s dearest friend.
With no particular plan but single-minded in intent, Mija sets out on a rescue mission, but her already daunting journey quickly becomes more complicated when she crosses paths with disparate groups of capitalists, demonstrators and consumers, each battling to control the fate of Okja…while all Mija wants to do is bring her friend home.
Deftly blending genres, humor, poignancy and drama, Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer,The Host) begins with the gentlest of premises—the bond between man and animal—and ultimately creates a distinct and layered vision of the world that addresses the animal inside us all.
