Disruption of the food chain in ‘Okja’

Ahn Seo-hyun with her “super pig” pet

In the accentuated alternate reality of “Okja,” science and nature are harnessed by a corporation that creates a new breed of animal, the “super pig,” potentially a source of profit, apart from a provider of tastier meat.

The Mirando Corporation is run by the fidgety Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton), who announces her grand plan of producing 26 super pigs and sending them to farms all over the world. These animals will then be checked by the company years later, and the best beast in the bunch will be declared the winner.

Fast-forward to a decade later. One such pig has grown tremendously in its hilly South Korean home. Looking like a giant hippopotamus with dog ears and elephant-like skin, the animal named Okja freely moves around as the pet of young Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) and her farmer grandfather (Byun Hee-bong).

They are visited by wacky zoologist and TV host Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal), who checks on the progress of the domesticated creature, and immediately leaves with it without the family’s consent. What follows is a mission to find and retrieve Okja, which becomes even more complicated when masked animal-rights activists get involved.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Directed by Bong Joon-ho, the Netflix film is a timely production that decries contemporary ills. The universality of the story—Mija seeking to reunite with her missing pet—keeps us invested, even though we’ve seen it countless times before, from the classic “E.T., the Extraterrestrial” to the more recent “Pete’s Dragon.” The girl’s bond with the odd-looking beast is examined proficiently, just as the characters in their narrative are skillfully presented.

Gyllenhaal, for instance, provides scene-stealing weirdness through his over-the-top portrayal. Just as engaging is Swinton, who pulls double-duty without a hitch. She’s strangely captivating as the PR-obsessed Lucy, a high-strung leader who occasionally badmouths her twin sister, Nancy. She also brings Nancy, a self-assured predator who feels no need to hide her mercilessness, to vivid life.

Then, there’s Paul Dano as the proactive leader of the animal-rights group, flawed but mesmerizing in his own way, with his own glaring and perplexing contradictions.

But apart from the intriguing but often caricaturish characters, “Okja” doesn’t shy away from disruption, and inspires polarizing discourse on the relevant issues it defiantly presents.

Tilda Swinton