The King of Pigs, written and directed by Sang-ho Yeon is a dark, dramatic Korean animation. Like many Asian films, they don’t do it like Hollywood.
I took my first dive into Asian animation this week. In terms of visuals I have no point of reference to compare it to, I wasn’t off put by the animation so to me that means they did a good job. But it was the story that was surprising, gripping and heart breaking.
We get right into the action, Jung-se has just murdered his wife for reasons unknown. He’s in a critical state and we see a strange figure lurking in the shadows. Upon realising who the figure and the impossibility of this, he rings his old school friend, Jong-suk and they arrange to meet up. Jong-suk is a ghost writer for an autobiography but his boss isn’t impressed with his work and it’s not what he really wants to do. We see Jong-suk too has a violent temper and by the two meeting to discuss their old school days we discover why. They were subject to bullying in the worse form, humiliation, beatings and embarrassment. Being called ‘the pigs’ there’s a strict hierarchy in their school that everyone is expected to fall in line with. A new kid, Chul, has no desire to follow these rules and becomes an enemy of the bullies and friend and saviour to a young Jong-suk and Jung-se.
It’s rare to see an animation taken so seriously. Most of the time we’d be used to laughs and a light-hearted atmosphere but that’s far from what you get with The King of The Pigs. It’s violent, brutal and sometimes quite twisted and uncomfortable. The story is a lot more complex and deep. This animation gets away with a lot more than your average, or even extreme British/American animation would. For anyone new to Asian animations, as I am, this comes with high recommendation, it gives a sense and understanding how animation is used more as an art form rather than just something ‘fun’ to play with like in Hollywood.
The King of The Pigs is a deep and personal story about friendship, growing up, human connection. At times you want to look away while at others you’re on the edge of your seat in anticipation and excitement. You truly feel for our central characters, Jong-suk and Jung-se, and genuinely despise the bullies and how they are. There’s a slight rush every time there’s a moment with the bullies as you want them to get their comeuppance and the film panders to that a little bit, while remaining (mostly) true to real life at the same time.
Rating: The story starts off slowly but has a great ability to connect with the audience. (6/10)
The King of Pigs is available on DVD now.
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