Animation – South Korea / UK Première

Showing @ Filmhouse 1, Sat 23 Jun @ 22.45 & Cineworld 8, Sun 24 Jun @ 18.00

Yeon Sang-ho / South Korea / 2012 / 97 min

From the very start of The King of Pigs, you know that the meeting of two old school friends after fifteen years can’t end well. The more we learn of them in flashbacks the more we see that beneath their adult exteriors lie two damaged and scared little boys.

Jung Jong-suk (Yang Ik-june) and Hwang-Kyung-min (Oh Jung-se) are still haunted by their schoolboy experiences in the brutally hierarchical Korean system where they were tormented by the older boys. That was until escape and rebellion came along in the shape of their crazy and fearless classmate Chul. In him, the boys find the strength they’ve lacked to face their bullies and someone they can rely on, unlike the various failed adult figures in their lives. And Chul easily becomes their rebel leader leading to dark and deadly consequences for all of them. This is a powerful tale of conformity and iconoclasm and one that hooks you in despite its atrocious subtitling. However, pictures really do say a thousand words so it’s still possible for audiences to follow the plot as it edges along to its tragic and unexpected conclusion. Whilst this isn’t the flashiest of Korean animations, it’s certainly a gripping and bold tale that viscerally shows that, no matter how hard we try to erase it, past is always present.