OKJA

Tilda Swinton   Paul Dano   An Seo Hyun   Lily Collins   Shirley Henderson   Jake Gyllenhaal   Giancarlo Esposito

     A live pig sold for a golden replica serves as the metaphor for this film about a young girl in South Korea and her soul mate, a huge pig she’s named Okja.  Mija (Hyun) is devoted to her pet and is unaware of the contractural agreement her grandfather signed 10 years earlier.  Thinking he is doing the right thing, the grandfather is ready to return Okja to the American company who gave it to him for 10 years, in exchange for the gold piece.   But he is mistaken in thinking Mija is going to value the gold more than the pig.  His bargain illustrates how capitalist schemes can appear so appealing to naïve peoples.  When Grandfather proudly gives Mija the golden relic and she realizes what he has done, she races after the truck carrying Okja away.  In this, the film likewise illustrates the betrayal of the younger generation by the older.

     The background story is about a wealthy American family with a multi-national food tech corporation that is unmindful of its responsibility to humankind and is single-minded in its profit motive, as lived out by the Mirando twin sisters (Swinton).  Lucy, who has always seemed to be in a one-down position, has dreamed up a contest that she is sure will win over her sister and bring her respect and love from the general public.  This is done by giving poor people around the world a genetically altered pig to raise for 10 years, with the ultimate aim of having a contest as to which one could feed the most people in the world (example of genetic experimentation and conflict of interest perhaps?).  Mija’s grandfather was one of those given an animal.  In the meantime, Okja is Mija’s only companion, and has even saved her life once.

     What follows is a rather fantastical madcap story involving international travel, daring car/truck races on the highways, the involvement of animal rights advocates (Dano, et al.), the pig competition, and, ultimately, the slaughterhouse; but Mija has her head about her and extraordinary smarts, and is out to bring Okja home.

     Writer/director Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, Mother) is a master at depicting dramas that pose ethical and socio-political situations for the audience to ponder, and here he makes it clear that we all have some responsibility for the state of affairs, either knowingly or by default.  That is, the grandfather is myopic as to his granddaughter’s wishes and ultimate welfare, the animal rights advocates are well intentioned but rather narrow-minded and inept, and the Mirando corporation has dual purposes topped off with petty rivalry among the owners. 

     Swinton is virtually unsurpassed in her ability to portray any character she’s presented with, and has a particular knack for odd, quirky personalities who have just enough plausibility to intrigue us.  Playing her character here and her chiding twin is entertaining in itself.  Young An Seo Hyun is captivating as a purposeful, devoted adherent to her principles.  Dano is gifted in his portrayal of appealing, sincere proponents of a cause, and he comes through here.  I was disappointed to see one of my idols, Jake Gyllenhaal, play such a buffoon role that seemed to have no purpose in this drama.  He executed it well, but I can’t see the reason for having such a character, who is shown as a self-inflated blowhard.

The purpose of this well executed film seems to be in having us contemplate where our food comes from, something we usually don’t want to do.

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THIS IS YOUR DEATH

Josh Duhamel     Famke Janssen   Giancarlo Esposito   Caitlin Esposito   Sarah Wayne Callies

     The plot of This is Your Death is set on a topic that is both intriguing and horrifying—unconscionable, some would say.  The intriguing part is related to the issue of a person’s right to choose their own death, which has advocates for both pros and cons.  The horrifying aspect is a TV reality show setting with an audience to hear the person’s back story and witness the suicide itself.  The acceptability of this practice is rationalized by explicitly identifying someone—like a child—who will benefit from donations made in the person’s name.  And these come in by the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

     This idea is conceived by Adam Rogers (Duhamel) who was host of a previous reality show in which a tragedy occurred.  He expresses his guilt about that show, which he felt responsible for, in that he was “pitting two women against each other like dogs.”  He convinces his producers and managers of the charitable benefits that he says will justify the new show, saying that it is not a death show, but “life affirming”.  His arguments reveal a kind of “skewed morality” that smack of truth, but are really flawed.  Of course, the studio brings in attorneys to assure they are above the law, and it has a physician on site who will verify that the person is in their right mind.  It’s a requirement, of course, that the person complete the act on their own.  They can choose the means by which they do it.

     Among those we meet are a woman abused by her husband who wants to be sure her daughter will be well cared for; a man who is terminally ill; a woman who wants the donations to go to refugees; a man whose wife needs a heart transplant, which he can’t afford; and a hard working older man who keeps getting fired and cannot get another job.  He wants to help his wife and two children, one of which is on crutches.  We witness mixed audience reactions, but the donations pour in, and Adam has to keep upping the stakes. 

     As time goes on, we see the binds that develop for Adam and the producers to keep the show a hit and deal with unanticipated problems.  Moral outrage increases, and Adam develops a reputation as “the televangelist of death.”  One woman highly outraged from the beginning is his sister Karina (Callies), an oncology nurse on a pediatrics unit, where everyone knows Adam is her brother.

     The film starts out being interesting in highlighting the reasons people want to participate, but misses the opportunity to explore the topical subject of suicide, shifting instead to Adam’s increasing problems in keeping the show ratings up and his obsession with his career and popularity.  As it becomes more unrealistic and sensational, This is Your Death loses its appeal and becomes just another TV reality show.

    Director Giancarlo Esposito’s career has been primarily as a television actor, and he plays a strong role as one of the characters wanting to help his family.  Duhamel, Callies, Janssen, and the other actors do a creditable job in portraying the conflicts inherent in such a rather outlandish production. 

A sometimes shocking story about a bizarre television reality show.

Grade:  C-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS

Dylan O’Brien   Kaya Scodelario   Patricia Clarkson   Lili Taylor   Thomas Brodie-Sangster   Aidan Gillen   Ki Hong Lee   Giancarlo Esposito

          The title Maze Runner is apt in that the protagonists seem to run during almost the entire movie.  In The Scorch Trials, a group of kids are racing through “The Scorch”, which is desolate, sandy, hot terrain and bombed out cities with buildings caving in, and they have zombie-like beings and others chasing after them for one reason or another.  It’s rather remarkable through all this that they seem to survive for days without much food or water.  The film opens with a group of teenagers routed out of bed and told to run (with the implication they are being rescued).  And in fact, they are taken to a place where someone named Janson (Gillen) repeatedly reassures them they are in a safe place and to “just relax.”  It appears to be true to the starved, beleaguered teens as they are fed and clothed and begin to feel content.  Except…

          One odd member of the group whom Thomas (O’Brien) doesn’t know takes him for an exploration at night that raises his concern.  Apparently Thomas (although unbeknownst to him because something has happened to his memory) is seen as a leader [“maybe they’ll listen to you”, says Newt (Brodie-Sangster)], not only by members of his group, but by others he encounters during the rest of the story.  They boys do find things that disturb them so much they plan an escape, but since they don’t know where they are, they have no idea where they’ll run to.

          And that’s the main part of this drama.  It’s a post-apocalyptic world as told in a trilogy (The Maze Runner) by the novelist James Dashner.  Scorch Trials is the fifth in a series of films based on Dashner’s Maze Runner novels.  This is actually the first one I’ve seen personally, but although there are references to previous events in the series, the film still stands on its own. 

          When Thomas and the others in his group discover that the experiments they are a part of might be dangerous to them, they attempt to escape but must go through the barren Scorch land to get to a safe place they’ve been informed about.  The researchers are hot on their trail, along with bounty hunters and the zombie-like creatures they meet along the way.  The questions become about whom they can trust and whether or not they’ll make it to their destination. 

          Although perhaps not as original as some would hope, the story is exciting and tense throughout, and the production design (Daniel T. Dorrance) and set direction spectacular.  Director Wes Ball, Musician John Paesano and Cinematographer Gyula Pados, worked together in previous Maze productions and all contribute to the quality of this one.  Young Dylan O’Brien—who was Thomas in the 2014 production—is a fine actor who holds his own as the lead.  Other actors (Clarkson, Taylor, Gillen, and Lee) are likewise forceful in their presentations. 

A fast-paced young adult thriller with panache.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland