7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A gentle giant and the girl who raised her are caught in the crossfire between animal activism, corporate greed, and scientific ethics.
Starring: Lily Collins, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Kelly MacdonaldDrama | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A joint South Korean and American production that plays like a bad English dub, Bong Joon Ho's Okja is a passionate, preachy drama with great visuals, a decent lead performance, and a fatally uneven tone that sinks the ship. Our story concerns young farm girl Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun): she lives in the mountains with her grandfather (Byun Hee-bong) and their oversized pig Okja, one of 26 such super-animals sent to farmers around the world by the Miranda Corporation, a mega-conglomerate hoping to solve the world's food shortage. Each these animals were raised in a way conducive to their respective culture, with the winning swine crowned at New York's upcoming "Best Super Pig Competition". After learning about Okja's mandatory departure -- as well as the real fate of its winner, as told to her by members of the Animal Liberation Front -- angry Mija departs for America on a mission to save her beloved pet.
Most of the prominent American characters are either badly written or their performances fully miss the mark: Tilda Swinton (who plays CEO Lucy Mirando and her twin sister) delivers the opening speech while chewing the scenery to pieces which, combined with sloppy expositional text, makes us think we're the victims of a practical joke. (It's similar to the classroom scene in Snowpiercer -- I hated the tone then too, but at least it was buried in the mix more deeply.) She does manage to wring a bit of humanity from the villainous role, especially as Okja unfolds, but it's too little, too late. Shirley Henderson distracts in a minor role as Mirando's assistant Jennifer, who appears to be impersonating her own grandmother. But none are worse than Jake Gyllenhaal: he's absolutely awful as Johnny Wilcox, an unconvincing TV personality with over-the-top behavior that should've been reigned in by the director. Only Paul Dano (Jay, leader of the ALF) is tolerable in his limited role, because he's basically playing the same character as usual.
The viewing experience is partially salvaged by Okja's outstanding visual effects, which bring its title character to life in a surprisingly convincing manner; both his appearance as well as the way he interacts with his environment, including other actors. Lead actor Ahn Seo-hyun also impresses with a solid performance, even if her character's actions send a mixed message that kind of undermines its otherwise beating heart. While the strength of these two characters is not enough for Okja to fully overcome its obvious shortcomings, it's still very much a "your mileage may vary" affair... and for those who fall for its charms, Criterion's 4K combo pack and this separate Blu-ray edition will certainly fit the bill. Both feature proportionately solid A/V presentations that far outpace streaming versions, and the mostly new extras offer a nice mix of on-set production accounts and retrospective thoughts from the cast and crew.
Keeping the spirit of "your mileage may vary" alive, please read Brian Orndorf's theatrical review -- or pretty much most other reviews, for that matter -- for a more positive take on the main
feature.
Ojka's appeal starts and almost ends with the visuals, so if nothing else it's good to know they're represented faithfully on Criterion's capable Blu-ray. Though its UHD counterpart is obviously superior in every major department, the film's true 4K source has been nicely downscaled here and looks quite strong in 1080p with crisp fine detail, excellent color saturation, and solid black levels that aren't prone to crush although some mild posterization can be spotted at times. Other compression-related drawbacks, such as banding and artifacts, don't seem to be an issue here, revealing a very satisfying image that should look quite good on small to medium-sized displays. In short, it's a solid effort for second place and those who have yet to upgrade to 4K shouldn't find this to be much of a visual compromise.
Okja's Dolby Atmos mix, identical to the 4K disc, compromises nothing and plays as nicely as you'd expect for a film of this type: its serene moments feature wonderfully subtle use of the surround and height channels for quiet ambiance, while more action-oriented or dramatic moments boost the tension and excitement considerably with more deliberate activity that spills into the back rows more frequently. Dialogue is crisp and clear regardless of spoken language, with forced subtitles accompanying all foreign dialogue. Overall, it's a well-balanced and carefully staged effort that enjoys a well-rendered quiet/loud dynamic, rarely taking any sort of sonic shortcuts to get its point across.
Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the film and all foreign-language extras.
Like its 4K counterpart, Criterion's Blu-ray edition of Okja ships in a thick clear keepcase with ultra-dark cover artwork (much less "readable" than Amazon's image above), an interior image, and their usual fold-out leaflet with notes about the A/V specs, cast/crew credits, acknowledgements, and an essay by film critic Karen Han titled "Big Love".
Bong Joon Ho's Okja is a passionate anti-cruelty drama with outstanding visual effects and a strong lead performance from Ahn Seo-hyun... and yet I actively disliked it more often than not. The film's sloppy tonal shifts, mixed messages, questionable script, and extremely uneven supporting performances all but sink this ship entirely, making me wonder exactly who Okja was made for. Regardless, the director's relatively strong track record in several genres with films like The Host, Snowpiercer, and Parasite -- and of course, your personal opinion of his directing style -- make this a very potent "your mileage may vary" affair, but those who have seen and enjoyed it on Netflix will certainly find Criterion's A/V presentation and bonus features worth the purchase. Newcomers should stream it first, obviously.
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