Want to see the most gorgeous Pig on earth? Look no further than the movie Pig (2021), which stars a beautiful pig (whose real name is Brandy). Her co-star, Nicolas Cage, plays the role of Robin "Rob" Feld, a former Portland chef who has retreated to an off-grid existence as a reclusive truffle forager after the death of his wife. He lives in a rustic cabin in the forest where he hunts for truffles with help from his beloved pig. A quiet but loving companionship.
Early on in the movie, Rob is assaulted by thieves who steal his pig. Rob is devastated and frantic. With the help of his only customer, a young and clueless truffle supplier named Amir (played by Alex Wolff of Hereditary), he embarks on a Hero’s Journey type of quest to find the pig. Through this quest, Rob uncovers and processes painful layers of grief for the loss of his wife.
The storytelling in this film borders on the absurd at times, which gives it a sort of fantastical quality. Almost like a fairytale even. In fact, in this article , David Ehrlich nicely describes how Pig is a “loose riff on the Orpheus myth”. (Warning: there’s lots of spoilers in that article).
I found this movie to be incredibly touching. Rob’s relationship with his pig is tender to the point of being heartbreaking. There’s a lot of details that don’t totally add up, but if you give yourself over to the tale and suspend disbelief, it’s an enjoyable watch. It’s available to stream here on Crave TV in Canada.
And I cannot overstate how incredible and gorgeous this pig is. This article describes Brandy as a “diva” who “knew it from the day she was born. Some pigs kind of like, waddle over. She’s very just prim and proper and trots nicely.”
The pig’s got star power, baby!