Movie · 2017 · Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction · 2h · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 6.8/10 (631.4K ratings)
We needed a miracle. And then we got one.
Overview
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.8/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.71/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Metacritic: 75
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
Bong Joon Ho
Production
Kate Street Picture Company, Plan B Entertainment, Lewis Pictures
Cast
An Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Jake Gyllenhaal, Giancarlo Esposito, Byun Hee-bong, Lily Collins, Daniel Henshall, Devon Bostick, Yoon Je-moon, Shirley Henderson, Choi Woo-shik, Sheena Kamal, Michael Mitton, Colm Hill, Kathryn Kirkpatrick, Jose Carias, Nancy Amelia Bell, Lee Jung-eun
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, emotionally direct creature adventure that doubles as a corporate satire and animal-rights fable. It’s messy in places, but Bong Joon-ho’s empathy, visual control, and tonal audacity make it memorable and often moving.
Best for
Viewers who like genre films with a political edge
Fans of heartfelt creature stories
People open to satire that swings between funny, bleak, and tender
Audiences who appreciate international cinema with mainstream scale
Skip if
You want a clean, purely family-friendly animal adventure
You dislike tonal shifts between comedy, horror, and pathos
You prefer tightly polished plotting over deliberate chaos
Corporate satire or activist themes turn you off
Overview
Okja is the kind of movie that starts as a fable and keeps mutating into something stranger, sadder, and more furious. Bong Joon-ho uses a giant animal and a child’s bond with her as the emotional center, then surrounds that tenderness with corporate grotesquerie, media absurdity, and bursts of action that feel both playful and cruel.
Worth noting
What makes it work is how sincerely it cares about its characters, even when the film is being satirical or outrageous. The performances are tuned to Bong’s shifting register: An Seo-hyun gives the story its moral clarity, while the adults around her are often funny, pathetic, or monstrous in ways that sharpen the film’s critique.
Bottom line
It’s not perfectly balanced, and some viewers may feel the transitions are a little lurchy. But the ambition is the point. Okja is a big-hearted, angry, and unusually compassionate film that leaves a strong aftertaste long after the credits.
Top Letterboxd reviews
#1 gizmo fan (4.5★) · 7290 likes
this movie is absolutely incredible but fuck it for making me think paul dano is hot
cinéfila... 🕯️ (4.5★) · 3970 likes
friendship ended with jake gyllenhaal, now okja the super pig is my best friend
Marian (4★) · 3511 likes
can i get uhhhhhhhh vegan salad
Karsten (3.5★) · 3210 likes
That last shot might be one of the coziest things I’ve ever seen but it still couldn’t bring me back from how sad I was 10 minutes earlier. That kinda summarizes my thoughts on Okja as a whole. A lot of heart and precision in every scene, but do all these carefully crafted scenes work when you put them together? I’m not gonna say no, but it could’ve been smoother. Another great film by Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best International Film, and Best Picture winner Bong Joon-ho!
shannon (4★) · 3203 likes
paul dano can get IT..... and by it, i mean the credit, respect and appreciation he truly deserves