Okja

Cute animals are easy pray for moviemakers aiming to tug on the heartstrings, especially if those cute animals happen to have a cute kid for a bestie. But rarely have those fauna been destined for the abattoir - it's here that Okja breaks new ground while surpassing many of its cinematic cousins for pure, soul-shaking heart.

Heralded as a new and entirely organic form of livestock, the super pig is big, easy to raise, and most importantly, "tastes fucking good." What's left out of this sales pitch is that these animals are intelligent, sweet natured, loyal and gentle. One of these remarkable creatures is Okja, raised on a simple homestead in the Korean mountains as part of an international farming initiative. For ten years her days have been shared with 14-year-old Mija (played with astonishing nuance by An Seo Hyun), a young girl raised on the farm by her grandfather following the death of her parents. Mija and Okja have grown up together and are devoted to one another, so when the Mirando Corporation, which has ownership of the animal, comes to claim Okja, Mija refuses to give up hope of rescuing her four-legged friend.

So far, so cheesy, but director Bong Joon-ho refuses to allow saccharine sentimentality to dull the razored edges of this dystopian fable about the realities of the meat industry and the horrors livestock face so that consumers can get their steaks, rashers and chops for cheap. There are nods to the kind of cinematic tropes this film might be likened to, a ripping urban caper with car chases and daring rescues. But it's punctuated with moments of brutal reality, such as when Mija emerges from her desperate rescue attempt battered and bruised, or when Okja is horrifying forced into serial-mating.

A powerhouse cast featuring Jake Gyllenhaal as crazed TV naturalist Dr Johnny Wilcox, Tilda Swinton as the quietly cut-throat Mirando sister, and Paul Dano as eco-warrior and Animal Liberation Front leader Jay, cement this beautiful, powerful, sobering film as Netflix's first bona fide movie blockbuster.