Our Lovely Pig Slaughter- 28th Made in Prague Festival

Writer and Director: Adam Martinec

Our Lovely Pig Slaughter, written and directed by Adam Martinec reveals graphically the one thing no-one wants to know: how sausage gets made. As a result the film is likely to both offend vegetarians and win over converts to their cause.

The ‘Slaughter’ in the title is not the name of an animal but an action and an event.   In a small Czech village Karel (Karel Martinec) and his family and friends observe the ritual of zabijacka, where a pig is killed and every part of the body consumed. But the celebrations are spoiled by unwelcome interruptions from the authorities and accidents leading to a growing concern the tradition may have had its day.

Writer/ director Adam Martinec is sensitive to the value of tradition in allowing an older generation to pass on values and positive norms of behaviour to their children. Yet he does not ignore how the ritual reinforces out-dated gender stereotypes.  The women remain in the kitchen preparing the vegetables. The possibility of cooking meat in the open air seems to bring out the caveman instinct in men all over the world and that is certainly the case in the film where the men not only hog the barbecue they start drinking alcohol at a very early hour. The macho vibe is so strong an encounter with a vegetarian provokes apoplexy, Lord knows how the characters would react meeting someone who is gay.

Director Martinec is aware of the ridiculous nature of the celebration.  The self-importance of the butcher is emphasised by a choral fanfare playing on the soundtrack as he arrives. Martinec gets excellent results from the non-professional players in the cast including (nepotism alert) his father Karel Martinec who, as the patriarch, Karel, suffers a humiliating pratfall while carrying bowl of pig’s blood with messy results. Karel is more complex than he allows himself to reveal, he is clearly conflicted that his neighbour does not approve of the pig slaughter but has no idea how to make amends.

There is a growing sense the ritual is on its last legs. Some of the pressures to change are from outside the community. Hybrid cars have begun to appear in the village.  Policemen arrive to remind the family the European Union has imposed a ban on the domestic slaughter of animals. Mind you, noting how the meat from the pig is dumped in a pile on a table, and gobbled by the family using their hands, without regard for hygiene it is possible the EU may have a point.

But pressure for change is rising also within the family. Karel’s parents have admitted to themselves they are too old and weary to rear a pig for the next year’s ritual. The younger members of the family are beginning to question the value of the event. The celebration could also be regarded as a rite of passage and a father tries to demonstrate his own masculinity to his friends and prove he is head of his household by insisting his son is old enough to observe the ritual while his wife is prepared to make clear she does not agree. The sense of dissatisfaction and rebellion goes beyond the celebrations with Karel ‘s daughter confronting him about the way he treated his late wife.

The bittersweet ending of the film is like a hangover after a party. A rueful reflection on events and a general sense as far as Karel’s family is concerned; this might be the last time the ritual is observed.

Our Lovely Pig Slaughterer is screening at the 28th Made in Prague Festival from 31 October to 30 November.