The Advocate

R

1993

1h 42m

Drama

List

80%

10 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Hoping to escape the complications of 15th-century Paris, young lawyer Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) takes a job as a public defender in a rural area. There he finds himself defending a pig accused of murdering a Jewish boy. Squaring off against a determined prosecutor (Donald Pleasence) and Catholic priest (Ian Holm), Richard defends the animal, which is owned by a beautiful gypsy woman, Samira (Amina Annabi). The medieval justice system and local superstitions mingle as the case plays out.

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Audience Member

A neglected, but butchered, gem.. The US cut (the only one freely available) makes it harder to follow and loses pivotal aspects. Basically it is an act of vandalism. Even so, the clever script, fantastic cast and quality production values, sense of place, costumes etc. carry it through and make it special. Intriguing, quirky, funny and dark, it gets better with every re-watching... This seriously merits a release of the original version...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

ross v

HOW, how is this movie sooo bad? It doesn't have a weak cast, or an uninteresting topic. And immediately degrades into a 70's quality late night skin flick.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Why did I watch this

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Småtrevlig, bra skådespel av Donald Pleasence, men lite väl tunn plot. Långt ifrån mästerligt medeltidsdrama.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

(***): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I found this little known historical legal practice fascinating

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Leslie Megahey

Director

Colin Firth

Richard Courtois

Lysette Anthony

Filette d'Auferre

Ian Holm

Albertus

Donald Pleasence

Pincheon

Amina Annabi

Samira

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27%

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

A quirky British film that seems to aim halfway between Monty Python and Sommersby.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Far from being a stuffy period piece, the movie is fun and intellectually engaging.

Rated: B

Aug 31, 2022

Full Review

Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

Among the irreverence is the fact that modern slang is often sprinkled amid the medieval talk...

Rated: 3/4

Mar 14, 2022

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Sep 30, 2005

Full Review

Andy Klein

Los Angeles CityBeat

Rated: 4/5

Mar 24, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

Hoping to escape the complications of 15th-century Paris, young lawyer Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) takes a job as a public defender in a rural area. There he finds himself defending a pig accused of murdering a Jewish boy. Squaring off against a determined prosecutor (Donald Pleasence) and Catholic priest (Ian Holm), Richard defends the animal, which is owned by a beautiful gypsy woman, Samira (Amina Annabi). The medieval justice system and local superstitions mingle as the case plays out.

Director: Leslie Megahey
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 2, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $231.0K
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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