[HanCinema's Film Review] "King of Pigs": Zoomorphism and Class Warfare

Published on 2011/11/19

Yeon Sang-ho's gritty and disconcerting "King of Pigs" largely impressed at this years film festival in Busan, but not all offered up their praise for Yeon's hard-hitting and provocative efforts. Drawing from personal experience and working with a limited budget, Yeon has pieced together a fairly controversial film that will unsettle many in the audience. Its violent and distressing subject matter speaks through its sharp visuals, all the while disturbing and unnerving as it plays out the fate of three, extremely troubled, middle school friends.

"King of Pigs" centres around two former friends Jong-Suk (Yang Ik-june) and Kyung-Min (Oh Jung-se). Having not seen or heard from each other for years, Kyung-min now decides to find Jong-suk and discuss the turbulent and trying experiences they had together as middle schoolers. Life, for both of them, has not been kind and each is struggling to succeed in their adult lives. As they converse, a defining moment in their life is relived and given new perspective and meaning as it shows to have tragically shaped their current existence.

Their school life is ruled by a cruel class system that exists within their world, with a strong emphasis on an oppressive determinism that defines them as individuals. The zoomorphic analogy of 'dogs' and 'pigs' is used to assign placement within this hierarchy, with the latter being where these two friends exist. There is a clear melancholic tone and sense of powerlessness here as the two are continually reminded of their inferior position within the world, trapped within a system that is as unforgiving as it is inescapable.

The two then befriend Cheol-Yi (Kim Hye-na); a morbid individual who, despite being a 'pig' himself, stands up to the abusive 'dogs' and in the process earns himself royal status within the sounder. Jong-Suk, in particular, embraces Cheol and all that he stands for, allowing him to represent all that he wishes he could be and achieve. Cheol is the leader or king whose actions, and more importantly choices, are in opposition to Jong-suk's own station.

Through this projection Jong-suk attempts to have his own personal understanding of his existence challenged. All the while battling the dissonance he feels between the harshness of his reality and the suppressed desire he has to challenge that world and the predispositions it has chained him to. However, Cheol's choices lead him down a road that Jong-suk is determined to see played out, for better or worse. This is his 'king' and all that he embodies must be protected for the preservation of his own hopes for a better life.

"King of Pigs" zoomorphic analogy is an interesting point to discuss here as the filmmakers have chosen to use this metaphor to represent class and the subsequent power each rank holds over the other. Interestingly, it is our ' hero ' Jong-suk who perceives others in this manner. He has a very clear and set understanding of the world and is deeply frustrated by it. He is bound by it, going so far as to function as blinders on his world-view. It is a perception that encroaches on the one thing that makes him truly human – will to choose.

The animations style itself reinforces the idea of the world as unchanging and constant. Settings are concrete and unimpressionable, and when paired with the rigid movements of the characters within, the result is a constant struggle between the static world and existence within it. Characters respond to the world but their impact on/over it is non-existent.

"King of Pigs" is a dark animation that is saturated with pessimism and salted with helplessness. This is world were class is king, where the system rules all, and where one's position within it is final. Depression, abusive, violence, and cruelty are the vices that continually beat down upon Jong-suk and his friends as they exist, struggle, and surrender to the hardships the world has set for them.

- C.J. Wheeler (Chriscjw@gmail.com)

Below is the Q&A session that took place at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival earlier this year. (Source)

Audience Question - The voices of the three child characters were performed by women. I would like to know if this was done to represent the characters as weak?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - Originally, I planned to have these three characters voiced by men. Yang Ik-june said he couldn't voice the middle school aged version of his character. The voice of an adult man would not sound right and if performed by children it would be difficult for them because of difficult phrases. In animations, usually, women perform the voices for young male characters. The younger characters in my movie are first year middle school students, so I thought that it would be more appropriate to have women voice the school children.

Audience Question - I have 3 questions for the director. Firstly, in your previous animation "Love is Protein" (part oof "Indie Anibox : Selma's Protein Coffee"), dogs and chicken appear as humans. Is there a reason you personify animals? Secondly, in "King of the Pigs", bullied kids are labelled as pigs and bullies are labelled as dogs. What class is higher than a dog? Lastly, when you were in school what class did you fall in?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - In the animation "Love is Protein" (part oof "Indie Anibox : Selma's Protein Coffee"), low income people exploit each other to survive. So a chicken delivers a chicken. Answer to your second question - the system which made the classes of pigs and dogs is above the dogs. Answer to your last question - when I was in school I was a student who just watched what happened and felt guilty.

Audience Question - I thought Chul-Yi resembled a pig. Was this related to Chul-Yi being called the "King of Pigs?" Did you make Chul-Yi look like a pig on purpose?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - I didn't draw Chul-Yi to look like a pig. I thought Chul-Yi was a pretty boy. Among the characters, Chul-Yi was the most handsome.

Audience Question - I get curious when I watch movies about school violence, because when I attended school there wasn't that kind of violence. Did you use school violence in this film to express certain broader thoughts or personally experience violence in school like in the film?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - I witnessed the Guess Jeans incident and the pouring of urine in middle school. That really happened. I drew the characters while looking through my middle school yearbook. Even the character names are similar to certain students I knew. I think if they watch the movie they will know which character represents which student. I think nowadays, the situation in schools are worse than in the movie.

Audience Question - In the animation, Chul-Yi continues to have evil thoughts, but, suddenly, after Chul-Yi hears his mother talking on the phone and confronts Kyung-Min's father his state of mind changes. I know it's possible to change like that, but what do you think about that? In the very first scene, Kyung-Min's wife appears to be dead. Did she kill herself or was she murdered? For the voice actors tell us how the voice acting went?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - Kyung-Min's wife is dead. That scene was there to create an ominous mood from the beginning. Kyung-Min killed his wife and tried to kill himself. But, he eventually goes out to meet Jong-Suk. Chul-Yi realizes that he can not solve the class problems in his school after seeing kids who are lower than him have parents that are higher than his. At that time he is confused. The other reason his state of mind changes is because of his mother. When I made this movie I focused on making the audience feel uneasy or disturbed. Hopefully, the audience feels that.

Kim Kkobbi (actress) - The voices for adult Jong-Suk and Kyung-Min were recorded before the animation was completed. The child characters were recorded after the animation was done. So, for the child characters, it was more difficult. The acting for an animation is much more difficult than a regular movie. In movies, I can express what I want to express, but for animations I have to sync my voice to the image and put emotional feelings into my voice, as well as keep the mindset of a boy. It was difficult, but we finished in 2 days.

Yang Ik-june (actor) - About 5-6 years ago I read the scenario for "King of Pigs" and that night I couldn't fall asleep. I was frightened by the social nature of the scenario. People who express this kind of passion and violence were bystanders in school. When they become adults they act these things out. I am one of them. My films are the same. 5-6 years ago, when I read the script I was shocked. The script was the best script I had read up until that point. Because of this, I kept an eye on him and watched the progress of the animation. He's also a close friend & colleague of mine. I made my first long film a little bit earlier than Yeon Sang-ho. We talked a lot. Korea isn't known for its animations and for someone from here to make an animation like this they should be admired and respected. I hope you give him a big round of applause.

Audience Question - I am a painter so I focused on the visual images. I know the rough, minimalistic drawings created the appropriate mood for the film, but, at the same time, I could see that spatially some things didn't seem right. For example, the small apartment had a large door which would be more appropriate in a much bigger apartment. I would like to know if this was an error or you didn't care about the spatial qualities of the drawings?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - About the animation. A lot of it leaves much to be desired. We worked with a limited budget. It was difficult to mediate. Animation requires people to work together and make corrections until it is right. Cost is generated by making these corrections. As a director, I have to decide whether it needs to be corrected or not corrected, unless, we can't even complete the work because of the budget. What I focused on the most was the emotional expressions. Made sure to have a consistent type of emotions. I wrote the scenario very quickly powered by a surge of emotions. I hoped to have the animation developed like that. I think the animation went out like that.

Audience Question - Background of the movie is set in a school. I would expect teacher's to have appeared a lot more than they did in the movie. Could you explain why?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - I gave a pretty thin description of dogs, who are basically students that wields power, because stories involving students who wields power has been dealt with in various movies. What "King of Pigs" deals with is the kids who don't have power. That's why I didn't have a lot of teacher characters. They are like irrelevant people, who don't move unless it benefits them. Somehow they wield justice.

Audience Question - I would like to know the significance of Jong-Suk's tear in the last scene?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - I think Jong-Suk's tear in the last scene feels like atonement and somehow feels liberating.

Audience Question - You mentioned that you finished the original script very quickly. What inspired you?

Yeon Sang-ho (director) - I got inspired by my dream. While serving in the military, I wrote down about 10 pages of memos from a dream. When writing the original screenplay the story changed a lot. While making "King of Pigs", the work that inspired me the most was the manga "Himizu" by Minoru Furuya. Also, while writing the original screenplay, I was inspired by Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River".