The Baroness and the Pig

The Baroness and the Pig is a Canadian drama film, directed by Michael Mackenzie and released in 2002.[1] Based on Mackenzie's own stage play, the film stars Patricia Clarkson as The Baroness, a Quaker woman from Philadelphia who moves to Paris with her husband, The Baron (Colm Feore) in the 1880s; however, her egalitarian ideals conflict with the elitism of Parisian society, particularly when she launches a plan to rehabilitate and bring into society a wild girl (Caroline Dhavernas) who was raised in a pig sty, leading The Duchess (Louise Marleau) to attempt to engineer The Baroness's downfall.[2]

The Baroness and the Pig
Directed byMichael Mackenzie
Produced byDaniel Langlois
Written byMichael Mackenzie
StarringPatricia Clarkson
Colm Feore
Caroline Dhavernas
Louise Marleau
Music byPhilip Glass
CinematographyEric Cayla
Edited byDenis Papillon
Production
company
Film Tonic
Media Principia
Wide Angle Pictures
Release date
  • September 8, 2002 (2002-09-08) (TIFF)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
French

The film premiered on September 8, 2002 at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] It was screened under an experimental model, by which instead of a traditional film print being projected in a standard manner, the film was digitally transmitted via satellite from its producers' offices in Montreal to the theatre.[3]

Critical response

Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail rated the film two stars, writing that "Handsome to look at, hard to digest, The Baroness and the Pig is an allegorical costume drama that feels something like Pygmalion (Pigmalion?) as adapted by Peter Greenaway. The film shares Greenaway's production designer, Ben Van Os, and his penchant for titled chapters, technology and dialogue about culture. With apparent narrative influences from Henry James to François Truffaut's The Wild Child to Jean Genet's The Maids, the film is fairly dry chewing. More fun might have been expected in a story about a young woman who grows up in a pig sty to serve in a fancy French kitchen."[2]

Ken Eisner of The Georgia Straight heavily criticized the film, writing that "This stunningly undernourished drama, shot in Quebec City and Budapest but set in 1880s Paris, is the kind of international hash-up that gives coproduction treaties a bad name. Even the ubiquitous Patricia Clarkson, who normally elevates anything she's in, comes out looking bad, as she appears to have been directed to play as a comedy what everyone else had been told is a tawdry melodrama."[4]

Awards

The film received three Jutra Award nominations at the 5th Jutra Awards in 2002, for Best Director (Mackenzie), Best Cinematography (Éric Cayla) and Best Editing (Denis Papillon).[5]

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References
  1. Dennis Harvey, "The Baroness and the Pig". Variety, September 25, 2002.
  2. Liam Lacey, "The Baroness and the Pig". The Globe and Mail, August 13, 2004.
  3. Mark Dillon, "The Baroness and the Pig’s all-digital model". Playback, September 16, 2002.
  4. Ken Eisner, "The Baroness and the Pig". The Georgia Straight, September 2, 2004.
  5. "Prix Jutra finalists announced". Playback, February 3, 2003.
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