The Hour of the Pig
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Hour of the Pig is a 1993 British/French film by writer/director Leslie Megahey, produced by the BBC. The film stars Colin Firth, Ian Holm, Donald Pleasence, Nicol Williamson, Jim Carter and Amina Annabi. It was released in the United States as The Advocate. The film is usually categorised as a drama, although it could also be classified as a mystery or a black comedy.
For its UK theatrical release, the film was given a 15 certificate, while the North American release was rated R, primarily due to its nudity and sexual content.
Plot
The Hour of the Pig is set in 15th-century France and is based upon the career and case files of Bartholomew Chassenee, an actual lawyer of the time who served as an advocate for animals who were accused of crimes. At the time, animal trials were used to determine if animals were the perpetrators of supernatural mayhem. Animals were subject to the same civil laws and penalties as human beings under French law, 1403–1596.
Richard Courtois (Firth) and his clerk Mathieu (Carter) have left the decadence of Paris in order to practise Law in what they believe to be a quiet rural village, Abbeville, in the province of Ponthieu. Courtois quickly becomes involved in a number of back-logged cases.
For his first case, he defends a farmer who is accused of killing his wife's lover. Courtois gets him acquitted (the farmer mutters, "I should have done him years ago" as he leaves and offers to help Courtois anytime). In his next case, Courtois fails to save Jeannine, a woman accused of witchcraft. He asks for rats to be called as witnesses to testify that she did not bribe them to infect her neighbour; when the rats do not appear the following day as summoned, this charge is struck off. However, Courtois overlooks a trivial difference between Roman law and the Ponthieu law and she is sentenced to be hanged anyway. As she is led away she tells Courtois, "There is darkness all about you, you can bring the light. Look to the boy, maître. Look to the boy." At her execution, Jeannine says she will not curse the town but blesses it, saying a fine Knight will arrive and deliver them from their lying and evil.
Courtois takes on a case defending a pig that is accused of killing a young Jewish boy. The pig, however, belongs to a band of Moors passing through town. Two of the Moors, Mahmoud (Sami Bouajila) and his sister Samira (Annabi), appeal to Courtois to save the pig, as it is their only source of food for the coming winter. Courtois declines. Samira later enters Courtois's room at night and quietly strips off, offering her body in exchange for his services, but he declines her offer, and the next day offers her enough money to purchase two pigs; she refuses the offer.
As Courtois delves deeper into the case and becomes more involved with Samira, he discovers that there is more at work than a simple murder. His work is brought to the attention of Seigneur Jehan d'Auferre (Williamson), who has his own designs on Courtois. Soon, Courtois finds that he is being used as a pawn in a complicated game of sociopolitical intrigue that extends beyond mere racism and corruption. The Seigneur subtly offers to bribe Courtois, also hinting that his daughter Filette is available in marriage. The Seigneur's son and daughter are eccentric to the point of insanity. The son's main hobby seems to be torturing birds.
Courtois's relationship with Samira becomes common knowledge. The Seigneur decides to sit in at the court and uses this knowledge to threaten Courtois into letting the pig be executed. Just as the case seems to be over, the Advent festival begins and the case is adjourned.
The prosecutor Pincheon (Pleasence) tells Courtois that he moved from Paris to Ponthieu as Courtois did, in order to shine in a village in a way he could not in Paris. He urges Courtois to go back to Paris and not waste his life amongst ignorant superstitious people.
The skeleton of another Jewish boy who went missing over a year ago is found while Courtois's house is being built. Courtois now suspects a human serial killer is at large and the pig has been framed.
On Christmas Day, Samira performs for a gathering of notables at the Seigneur's chateau. She is almost arrested for drawing a knife on the Seigneur's son after he pours wine down her blouse. Courtois boldly leads her away. That night, he rescues a boy from a masked horseman who is wielding an axe.
Courtois confronts the Seigneur, telling him his son is the killer. The Seigneur does not deny it and reveals that his son has left for England to be treated. At the trial, the pig is acquitted when Valliere, the farmer Courtois saved in his first case at Abbeville, brings in a replica pig which he claims absconded at the time of the killing.
As Courtois leaves, he sees a Knight arriving just as Jeannine had foretold. After he has left, the Knight goes to a room and takes off his armour to reveal that he bears the characteristic buboes of the Black Death.
U.S. version
The Hour of the Pig was released in the United States by Miramax as The Advocate. Besides having its name changed, the film's content was cut down to 102 minutes for the U.S. release - according to viewers who have seen both versions, some cuts were to avoid an NC-17 rating, while others were for either length or pacing reasons, which has left many viewers feeling that the shorter version of this film is somewhat confusing.Template:Fact
Home video releases
The full 112m 16s version was released on VHS in the UK (running to 107m 46s due to PAL speed-up). Only the shorter (R-rated) version of the film was released to VHS or DVD in North America.
