Great Film overall

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A Major Disappointment

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This is probably one of the most depressing cartoons I have ever seen. The story at first may seem to be about bullying in middle school at the surface but it's way more than that. This movie is about humanity, shown in a realistic perspective. That some viewers that is in tune with Korean culture may agree with or part of it or at least understand it. It really is a messed up and yet realistic cartoon that is shown in a brutal manner. The story revolves around 3 middle school kids that feel that they will always be the underdogs no matter how hard they try. So one of the kids has the mentality of being vicious, malicious and evil in order to defeat the corrupt. In another words fight fire with lava. Now the kids portrayed in this movie who re being bullied may seem crazy to some, but it's understandable. This movie basically shows the ugly side of humanity and how the people that are suppressed deal with it. However I am not quite sure what the message of this movie is about because the theme basically seems to revolve around hopelessness. Is the message about fighting back, taking what you want from other people and vengeance, because the weak gets taken advantage of? Anyways this didn't have that emotional impact like what the director Sang-ho Yeon tried to convey, but it's still a gripping and attention grabbing flick. Not all Asian cartoon flicks can be like Hayao Miyazaki films with happy endings.6.3/10

This South Korean animation opens just after bankrupt businessman Kyung-min has murdered his wife, after showering he calls Jong-suk; an old friend he hadn't spoken to since they were in middle school together. They meet up for a drink and start reminiscing about their time at school. These weren't good times; the children of wealthy parents were allowed to lord it over the others with impunity and nobody did a thing about it… until one day when Kyung-min was being bullied a boy at the back of the class stood up and told the bully to stop. The bully hits him but unlike the others who just take it he fights back. This boy is Chul and he will change Jong-suk and Kyung-min forever. The violence doesn't stop but when the bullies who run the school try to put Chul in his place he just strikes back harder. Eventually Chul is expelled but that doesn't stop his determination to make sure those boys who seem the run the school will never look back on their school days with happiness.This may be an animated film but it certainly isn't for children; the violence may not be extreme but it is brutally believable. There are no truly sympathetic characters; we know Kyung-min has murdered his wife and see Jong-suk striking his in the opening scenes and following Chul's lead they stab and kill a cat during the prolonged flashback to their school days. The animation style also served to increase the sense of brutality; it had a deliberately ugly look unlike the western and most of the Japanese animation that I've seen. There is a constant feeling that things won't end well and indeed they don't but not in the way I'd expected.Overall I'd definitely recommend this film although I'm not sure I'd want to watch it again in a hurry as it is so downbeat. This belongs up there with 'Lord of the Flies' when it comes to stories about just how savage children can be.

The movie tries to get in a really tough subject matter. While doing so, it does steer away too much though. The constant flashbacks (Rashomon this ain't) and the pace do not work in favor of the movie. The subject is very serious indeed (bullying) and is not to be taken lightly (no matter what country it happens and it unfortunately happens a lot), but while the movie does not take it lightly, it does try too hard. The moral finger pointing is heavy ... too heavy.The anime style is good throughout, but the movie still felt like it had double the running time. One other thing that made it penetrating and almost unbearable were the subtitles. The filmmaker is (likely) not responsible for those, but it does add to the overall dissatisfaction you might feel while watching this. A feeling that arises because you might feel that this subject matter could've been handled better.

A haunting, hard-hitting animation about the problem of class struggle in South Korea and its disastrous connection to bullying. With its nightmarish art direction, it stimulates many radical emotions in the viewer, assaulting him with a most sombre tale of an atrocious past.Two men struggling with domestic issues of their own meet after 15 years and reminisce about their extremely difficult school days. Their childhood was gradually being destroyed because of the ongoing, enormous and brutal pressure from the rich kids who ruled the school-grounds and often resolved to in-class violence. The fact that everybody around pretends that this horrible activity didn't even exist only made the whole issue worse and caused the richer kids to be even more confident of their impunity. The boys' last and only hope was their brave yet ferocious classmate Chul. He proved to be the only kid who wasn't afraid to stand up against the terror and tried to fight back using even more violence than his oppressors. Without any help from the outside the three friends came up with a most shocking plan - Chul will commit a public suicide. Without any hope for a brighter future they though of this extreme scheme as they only means to notifying the impassive adults about the horrible incidents that occur behind the school walls everyday. Apart from evaluating the boys' decisions and presenting their differing viewpoints on the situation - and on what's about to happen - the film also reveals a grand mystery in its final act.The plot is inspired by the director's dream, where his two friends decide to commit suicide as a revenge act for all the evil that's happened to them in the past.The King of Pigs is a mightily dark and obscure anime, where horrible reality merges with confusing visions, only to deliver a stupendously convincing message to the Korean nation. Through the story of two men it shows that many childhood traumas have terrible lifelong effects. Memories are deceiving, but they play an important role in determining how people cope with their lives.