King of Pigs, The (2011) (1st viewing) d. Yeon, Sang-ho (South Korea)
In this relentlessly bleak animated feature, two childhood chums – fellow social outcasts – meet up 15 years after graduation to discuss their former lives and the events that shaped them. Eschewing the traditional anime stylings, there are some incredible visuals depicted amidst what is essentially a naturalistic examination of social hierarchy, both on a “popularity” status and based on income, and one comes to care about the misfit characters incapable of changing their position in Life’s pecking order.
(My biggest beef was with the 2012 Fantasia Film Festival print’s English subtitles, which I desperately hope someone pointed out to the distributors sooner than later. As it stood, there were times where, with a little work, one can figure out the sense of the dialogue, but there are others that are absolutely incoherent. This will affect festival/DVD play, so it’s no small thing.)
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