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The Advocate

Play trailer Poster for The Advocate R 1993 1h 42m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
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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The Advocate

Critics Reviews

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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 Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …The Hour of the Pig is an obscure but actually great little British film that’s sexy, funny and educational at the same time, with a cruel sense of historical irony that few films can match… Rated: 4/5 Jul 10, 2025 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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 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 Audience Member So, in the 15th century, animals were put on trial just the same as people. Watch this movie if you don't believe me. Colin Firth's hair rocks. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Advocate

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Cast & Crew

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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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The Advocate

The Advocate (1993) The Advocate (1993) The Advocate (1993) The Advocate (1993) View more photos

Movie Info

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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