X
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 2 h 2 m
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 2 h 2 m
Summary A bumbling pig farmer, a feisty salon owner, a sensitive busboy, an ambitious expat architect and a disenchanted rich girl converge and collide as thousands of dead pigs float down the river towards a rapidly modernizing Shanghai, China. Based on true events.
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 2 h 2 m
- 2021
- Not Rated
- Film Movement
- 2 h 2 m
Dead Pigs
73
5.8
Where to Watch
Summary A bumbling pig farmer, a feisty salon owner, a sensitive busboy, an ambitious expat architect and a disenchanted rich girl converge and collide as thousands of dead pigs float down the river towards a rapidly modernizing Shanghai, China. Based on true events.
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
73
83% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
17% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
73
83% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
17% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A great first feature from Cathy Yan, Dead Pigs paints a vivid backdrop of globalization, wealth inequality, and the anxieties of a dual Eastern and Western existence. With these complexities in mind, it forces its idiosyncratic characters into personal and financial battles which often feel unwinnable.
Dynamic in a Hollywood-friendly manner, the film has a deliberately broad tone, but by no means does that detract from its thematic acumen.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 User Ratings
5.8
50% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
38% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
13% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 User Ratings
5.8
50% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
38% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
13% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
If that lack of discipline is the cost of the generous, expansive, energetic wit of Yan’s immensely promising first feature, it’s one we should be happy to pay.
Although the film still sparkles, a trimmed-down version focused solely on the Wangs might have had the explosive power of a hand grenade. But the story isn’t the main attraction here. The real star of the movie is Yan, whose carnivalesque sensibilities emerge fully formed in this, her first feature.
Yan’s debut as a writer/director is a mostly sturdily constructed, and deftly edited, series of “meanwhiles,” a sprawling narrative of loosely and closely connected people whose lives intertwine in a variety of ways.
I think its quirky charm and sense of humor will turn off a lot of people, but if you’re into the weird and unusual you might want to give Dead Pigs a look. It’s far from great, but it’s an entertaining and pleasant enough watch.
It’s a tonal wild ride with eccentric characters, neon-lit settings and elaborately absurd detours. Unfortunately, the ripped-from-the-headlines meat of Dead Pigs gets lost in these affectations.
Awards
Philadelphia Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Seattle International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
