Korean animation has given us a number of great films through the years, with Yeon Sang-ho‘s works and titles like “Beauty Water” and “The Senior Class” being the first that come to mind. As such, it is with great pleasure to say that Hur Bum-wook‘s second feature, “Pig that Survived Foot-and-Mouth Disease” definitely belongs to this category.
Pig That Survived Foot-and-Mouth Disease is screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Taking inspiration from the 2010-2011 Foot-and-Mouth outbreak in Korea, which resulted in a total of 3.48 million susceptible animals being culled, including cattle and pig, the movie begins with a rather intense sequence of deceased pigs being buried alive after being killed. One of them however, manages to survive and escapes towards the forest. Meanwhile, a soldier that is suffering intense bullying, even having ‘fellow’ soldiers peeing on him, eventually erupts, since his bullying seems to have started since his school days, pushing him to kill one of his tormentors. Later on, he also escapes in the forest.
During the thunderous night, both protagonists undergo a transformation, with the pig getting human-like characteristics, standing on its two legs, and the soldier having hair grow up all over his body, making him look like some kind of gorilla. The former eventually falls in with a group of starved boars, after he saves them from some human hunters, championed by a female in the herd, and despite the protests of the young and strong in the ‘tribe’ and the caution the elder suggests. Eventually, the boars try to become human too. The latter stumbles upon a girl who is about to commit suicide and the two start getting to know each other better.
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Hur Bum-wook directs a rather bleak film, where hope is nowhere to be found, as the situation for all the protagonists just keeps getting worse and worse, despite some brief moments of piece they experience. The fact that the humans are the real animals permeates the narrative, to the point that even when the boars become violent, they only do so after being pushed to a corner by their tormentors. The fact that the boars want to be humans too, as they perceive this transformation as their only way to survive adds to this comment. At the same time, it also adds to the drama here, as even when the miracle actually happens, more tragedy ensues, in the rather catastrophic as much as audiovisually impressive finale.
The concept of bullying and the way it impacts particularly the victims is also a central one here, with Hur portraying the soldier as a constant recipient of it, in a way that definitely make the audience empathize with him, and even understand, if not justify, his actions. The same applies to the concept of conformity and racism, as presented by the treatment anyone who looks different receives. At the same time, the sum of all the aforementioned results in a movie that emits a sense of anger from its creator from beginning to end, as his disgust for humanity is quite evident. This approach works rather well for the animation, inducing it with a constant sense of tension, that is excellently combined with the drama and the brutality that are also found in abundance throughout.
This sense also applies to the character design, with the protagonists almost always looking dirty or bloodied, with the signs of their situation and psychological status being quite evident in their appearance also. The animation could have been a bit better, particularly in regards to the movement of the characters, but the disaster scenes definitely compensate.
Although there is an overall rawness here, both in technique and in narrative, and Hur does go a bit too far with his story, “Pig That Survived Foot-and-Mouth Disease” emerges as an excellent movie, particularly due to its contextual richness, and as another testament to the progress of Korean animation.
