‘Our Lovely Pig Slaughter’ Review: A Rowdily Tragicomic Ode to Family Feuds and Disappearing Traditions
variety.comJessica Kiang Vegetarians, it need hardly be said, might want to give Adam Martinec‘s funny, poignant “Our Lovely Pig Slaughter” a wide berth.
Meat-eaters, however, should have fewer qualms — indeed, there’s a case to be made that the ethically minded omnivore should take it as mandatory viewing.
Centering on the ancient Czech ritual of zabijacka, a day-long communal pig-butchering in which no liver, lard or loin is left behind and no opportunity for familial conflict passed over, Martinec’s doleful comedy offers a needed reminder of what meat is when not packaged onto polystyrene trays and slapped with a barcode.
More importantly, Martinec’s intimately observed screenplay and his superb, largely non-professional ensemble speak to what these meat-meets represent for aging rural communities: the chance to connect the next generations to the rites of the past while also bringing one’s increasingly scattered and urbanized clan temporarily back into the fold of the villages and farms they’ve left behind.
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