The King of Pigs

The King of Pigs is a 2011 South Korean animated drama film, directed by Yeon Sang-ho. It won three awards at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival. The film was selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Cast

 * Yang Ik-june as Jung Jong-suk
 * Oh Jung-se as Hwang Kyung-min
 * Kim Hye-na as Kim Chul
 * Kim Kkot-bi as young Jong-suk
 * Park Hee-von as young Kyung-min

Synopsis
After his business goes bankrupt, thirty-something Kyung-min (Oh Jung-se) kills his wife impulsively. Hiding his anger, he seeks out his former middle school classmate Jong-suk (Yang Ik-june). Jong-suk now works as a ghostwriter for an autobiography, but he dreams of writing his own novel. For the first time in 15 years they meet. Kyung-min and Jong-suk both hide their own current situations and begin to talk about their middle school days.

At their middle school, they were classified by their wealth, grades as well as stature. Kyung-min and Jong-suk were at the bottom. They were called "pigs" and were bullied by a ruling class known as "dogs". When they were called pigs they got angry, but couldn't do anything against the dogs. Then a King of Pigs appears - Kim Chul (Kim Hye-na). Kyung-min and Jong-suk began to rely on Kim Chul.

Whilst in the present Kyung-min leads Jong-suk to their middle school grounds to disclose to Jong-suk the shocking truth about what happened to Chul 15 years ago.

Reception
Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that while the film contains a high level of stylised violence, "it is not an artistic exercise. Pain is represented as something very real, enough to make one wince. ... The King of Pigs captures many subtle class gradations in Korean society and shows how it corrupts human interaction." Lee also wrote: "Technically adept and highly cinematic in its storytelling, the US$150,000 production proves that it is still possible to produce quality animation with a modest budget." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film four stars out of five, and called it "a strangely gripping and upsetting movie."

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 72% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 6.31/10.