Okja (2017)—South Korea

In the isolated mountains of South Korea, a spunky farm girl named Mija lives with her grandpa and her very big, beloved, and digitally-mastered pig named Okja. Mija has lovingly cared for Okja for ten years, and it's clear that they are close buddies. They frolic in the forest and sleep together at home. It turns out that Okja was one of twenty-six piglets genetically engineered by the evil Mirando Corporation, and then distributed around the world in a Super Pig Competition. Unfortunately for Mija, Okja won that contest, and now Mirando has come to reclaim Okja as the winner and take her to New York City. "They have big plans for her in America," explains her grandpa, "she's a celebrity!" Mija will not hear of it, and goes to extraordinary lengths to save her porcine pal. Tilda Swinton plays the role of the image-obsessed CEO of Mirando in this clever satire about a serious subject. Okja was named one of the top ten films of 2017 by the New York Times. I watched it on Netflix Streaming.

Dan Clendenin: dan@journeywithjesus.net