In his own playful, stylistically fluid way, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho uses his sci-fi comedy Okja to do the same thing: it forces us to confront the everyday horror of the meat on our plates. Assuming you’re not a vegetarian already, Okja may just convince you to switch pork sausages for soya ones. Unbeknown to Mija, her grandfather’s already agreed to have Okja submitted to the super  pig competition in New York – which effectively means that the poor animal, once it’s had its five minutes of fame on television, is headed to the slaughter house. Fixed on saving her best friend, Mija smashes her piggy bank, snatches up some spare clothes and heads off on a big adventure, which takes in Seoul, New York, a screamingly camp TV zoologist played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and several members of the Animal Liberation Front. Headed up by Jay (Paul Dano), the small group of activists aim to expose the cruelty going on behind the Mirando Corporation’s cheery public image, and want to use Okja to capture the incriminating evidence they need. Mija, meanwhile, just wants to rescue Okja and head back to her home in the mountains. With its depiction of gaudy, loud corporate events and glib TV personalities, Okja occasionally feels like The Hunger Games directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The guide through this world of celebrity and animal slaughter is Ahn Seo-hyun, whose quietly expressive performance grounds the whole movie. Lost for much of a film in an English speaking world, Mija’s determination and love for her best friend are largely communicated through Seo-hyun’s physical performance, and it’s as beguiling as it is seemingly effortless. Then again, Paul Dano’s also quietly effective as Jay, the soft-spoken leader of the ALF. Your mileage may vary with Gyllenhaal, who puts in one of the most over-the-top performances of his career; whatever you make of it, there are moments in here – such as a scene where reclines on a rising podium – that are unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry. The overall effect of all these varied tones and performances, however, is a story that is as difficult to predict as Okja herself. Skittering as it does from heartfelt joy to scenes approaching outright horror, Joon-ho’s movie, which he co-wrote with Jon Ronson, uses its humour to make some serious points about corporations and the way they present themselves. Tilda’s grinning CEO introduces herself by apologising for the history of her family-run company – it once made napalm, among other things – but really, she’s just the friendly of another lizard-brained company that puts profits before ethics. Okja is out now on Netflix and in selected UK cinemas.