The King of Pigs

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The King of Pigs
The King of Pigs poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byYeon Sang-ho
Written byYeon Sang-ho
Produced byStanley Kwak
Kim Il-gwon
Cho Young-kag
Chae Su-jin
Edited byYeon Sang-ho
Lee Yeon-jeong
Music byEom Been
Production
companies
Studio Dadashow
KT&G Sangsangmadang
Release date
Running time
97 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$150,000
Box officeUS$124,068[1]

The King of Pigs (Korean: 돼지의 왕; RR: Dwae-ji-ui wang) is a 2011 South Korean adult animated psychological drama thriller film directed by Yeon Sang-ho.[2] It was Sang-ho's debut film, and was based on many of his former experiences in high school. The film was selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, making it the first Korean film of its kind to be screened in Cannes.[3][4] The film was highly polarizing, but was mostly praised for its realistic portrayal of bullying, violence, and systemic poverty and won three awards at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival.[5] It marks their first adult animated film produced in South Korea, along with the film at the same year, Leafie, A Hen into the Wild, was responsible for South Korea's increase in legitimacy in the animation industry.[6]

Cast[]

Synopsis[]

After his business goes bankrupt, thirty-something Kyung-min (Oh Jung-se) kills his wife impulsively. Hiding his anger, he seeks out his former middle school classmate Jong-suk (Yang Ik-june). Jong-suk now works as a ghostwriter for an autobiography, but he dreams of writing his own novel. For the first time in 15 years they meet. Kyung-min and Jong-suk both hide their own current situations and begin to talk about their middle school days.

At their middle school, they were classified by their wealth, grades as well as stature. Kyung-min and Jong-suk were at the bottom. They were called "pigs" and were bullied by a ruling class known as "dogs". When they were called pigs they got angry, but couldn't do anything against the dogs. Then a King of Pigs appears - Kim Chul (Kim Hye-na). Kyung-min and Jong-suk began to rely on Kim Chul.

Whilst in the present Kyung-min leads Jong-suk to their middle school grounds to disclose to Jong-suk the shocking truth about what happened to Chul 15 years ago.

Reception[]

Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that while the film contains a high level of stylised violence, "it is not an artistic exercise. Pain is represented as something very real, enough to make one wince. ... The King of Pigs captures many subtle class gradations in Korean society and shows how it corrupts human interaction." Lee also wrote: "Technically adept and highly cinematic in its storytelling, the US$150,000 production proves that it is still possible to produce quality animation with a modest budget."[7] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film four stars out of five, and called it "a strangely gripping and upsetting movie."[8]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 72% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 6.31/10.[9]

Korean cinema website KoreanScreen gave the movie a 4 out of 5 stars, writing, "Bleak, angry and utterly uncompromising, this animated view of hierarchical high schools delivers a relentless break-time punch to the stomach."[10] On April 12, 2021, KoreanScreen listed The King of Pigs as the 71st best Korean film of all time in their list of 100 Greatest Korean Films Ever, a list polled by 158 international film critics from 28 countries, making it the only animated film in the list. The list wrote, "Sometimes films are necessarily bleak in order to imprint their message on your mind. This is a lesson on bullying and hierarchical high school environments you are unlikely to ever forget."[11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "King of Swine". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  2. ^ Kim, Seong-hoon (16 May 2012). "Korean Films at Cannes 2012 - The King of Pigs". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  3. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (24 April 2012). "Cannes 2012: Michel Gondry's 'The We & The I' to Open Director's Fortnight". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  4. ^ "2012 Selection". quinzaine-realisateurs.com. Directors' Fortnight. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  5. ^ Schwankert, Steven (14 October 2011). "Busan International Film Festival Wraps with New Currents, Flash Forward Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  6. ^ "South Korean animation: Is the underdog finally having its day?". TheGuardian.com. 22 January 2013.
  7. ^ Lee, Maggie (7 December 2011). "The King of Pigs: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  8. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (24 January 2013). "The King of Pigs - review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  9. ^ "Dwae-ji-ui wang (The King of Pigs) (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  10. ^ "THE KING OF PIGS (2011) Yeon Sang-ho Bleak, angry and utterly uncompromising, this animated view of hierarchical high schools delivers a relentless break-time punch to the stomach Some general viewing advice for the King of Pigs is to have a loved one available to hold you once it is finished. This is not simply a thematically challenging, violent film with little joy. This remarkably difficult watch has a rage and melancholic essence which seeps from every pore. There is hardly a character in the film not brimming with rage or drowning in terror. Despite this description seemingly designed to put you off the King of Pigs, it is an endorsement of the emotional power of the film, one that is taking aim at a societal structure which privileges some and boots others to the curb. In the wake of his business failing, Kyung-min (Oh Jung-se) kills his wife in a fit of rage and then decides to reconnect with his best friend from middle-school Jong-suk (Yang Ik-june). Jong-suk also finds himself struggling, working as a ghostwriter for an autobiography, his job hangs by a thread while he dreams of writing his own novel. He is similarity lashing out at his girlfriend for his failings when Kyung-min calls. After a 15-year hiatus, the pair meet to discuss their time in adulthood and the old middle school days, presented to us as a series of flashbacks. Classified by their wealth at school, the pair found themselves in the "pigs" level compared to the higher ranked, wealthy "dogs", who violently torment their lower ranking students. When Kim Chul (Kim Hye-na) appears in the "pigs" ranks, he takes the fight back to the "dogs" and Kyung-min and Jong-suk finally have some protection. However, as the pair look back to the school days, there are some unspoken truths about their formative years. What the film does particularly well is a bait-and-switch around elements of hope. A new student joins who could break-up the status quo, or a battle is won. Perhaps green grass awaits? Seldom so. The bullies, or "dogs", are not your run-of-the-mill knuckle-draggers though. They are also the smartest in the class and feel they warrant their position of ultimate power. The reminiscing structure of the film adds an additional challenge. We are forced to go back, to open up old scars, to relive what happened to Kyung-min and Jong-suk in their toxic childhoods. It is likely to be an additionally difficult watch for any victims of bullying themselves, but even for those who avoided such fate will emphasise with their plight. The first half of the film fills you with rage. Our natural tendency to despise unfairness is deeply provoked. There is no doubt you must be in the right frame of mind for the King of the Pigs, but sometimes films are necessarily bleak in order to imprint their message on your mind. This is a lesson on bullying and hierarchical high school environments you are unlikely to ever forget". Koreanscrren.com.
  11. ^ "100 Greatest Korean Films Ever". Koreanscreen.com. Retrieved 2022-01-17.

External links[]

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