Netflix has released a new featurette for their upcoming film Okja. The movie, directed by Snowpiercer’s Bong Joon Ho and starring newcomer An Seo Hyun as Okja’s human friend, Mija, not only looks like a great adventure film, but like it could be the type of movie everyone will want their daughters to watch. The 13 year old actress may be new to American audiences, but she should be recognizable to South Korean audiences where she has already appeared in 12 films. As we see in the new featurette, her character is every bit as brave as Katniss Everdeen, and fighting just as hard for something she believes in.
Okja premiers on Netflix on June 28th and stars Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Byun Heebong, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Jake Gyllenhaal and newcomer An Seo Hyun as “Mija.”
For 10 idyllic years, young Mija (An Seo Hyun) has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja – a massive animal and an even bigger friend – at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But that changes when a family-owned multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation takes Okja for themselves and transports her to New York, where image obsessed and self-promoting CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) has big plans for Mija’s dearest friend.
With no particular plan but single-minded in intent, Mija sets out on a rescue mission, but her already daunting journey quickly becomes more complicated when she crosses paths with disparate groups of capitalists, demonstrators and consumers, each battling to control the fate of Okja…while all Mija wants to do is bring her friend home.
Deftly blending genres, humor, poignancy and drama, Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host) begins with the gentlest of premises-the bond between man and animal-and ultimately creates a distinct and layered vision of the world that addresses the animal inside us all.
Okja is a Plan B Entertainment, Lewis Pictures and Kate Street Picture Company production in association with Netflix.