The Hour of the Pig

Richard Courtois and his clerk Mathieu leave Paris to practice law in Abbeville, seeking a quieter life. They expect to tackle back-logged cases in a rural setting, away from the capital's pressures. This move sets up the film's courtroom-focused journey.

Courtois defends a farmer accused of killing his wife's lover. Through careful argument, he secures an acquittal, though the farmer mutters that he should have acted sooner. The result reinforces Courtois's reputation in the village.

Jeannine is accused of witchcraft in a case that tests the boundaries between Roman law and local custom. Courtois calls for rats to testify that she did not bribe them to infect her neighbor, but the rats fail to appear. The charge is struck off, yet the witch is still condemned under local practice.

Jeannine is led to the gallows; as she goes, she tells Courtois darkness surrounds him and urges him to look to the boy. She foretells a knight will arrive to deliver them from deceit. The execution marks a turning point in Courtois's experience of the town.

Courtois takes on the case of a pig accused of killing a young Jewish boy. The pig belongs to a band of Moors passing through town; Mahmoud and his sister Samira plead it is their only food for the coming winter. The case widens the social tensions at the heart of the village.

Samira enters Courtois's room at night, offering her body in exchange for favor; he refuses. The next day he offers money to buy two pigs, but she does not accept. The encounter colours Courtois's involvement with the Moors and the case.

Courtois's work draws the attention of Seigneur Jehan d'Auferre, who tries to use him for his own ends, offering bribes and marriage to his daughter Filette. The Seigneur's eccentric children add a layer of menace to the town's politics.

As the Advent festival begins, the pig case is adjourned and Courtois faces pressure from the Seigneur to let the pig be executed. The social and religious celebration disguises the town's underlying corruption.

Prosecutor Pincheon reveals he moved from Paris to shine in Ponthieu and urges Courtois to return to Paris and abandon village superstition. The temptation to abandon the case and return to prestige looms over Courtois.

The skeleton of another missing Jewish boy is found during the rebuilding of Courtois's house. Courtois suspects a human serial killer is at large and that the pig has been framed for the crime. This deepens the mystery beyond a single animal case.

During the Advent festival, Samira performs for a gathering of notables at the Seigneur's chateau. She is nearly arrested for drawing a knife on the Seigneur's son, but Courtois intervenes and leads her away. The performance highlights the town's volatile cultural politics.

That night Courtois rescues a boy from a masked horseman wielding an axe. The incident confirms that danger and violence lurk beneath Abbeville's surface, affecting the confidence of all involved in the pig case.

Courtois confronts the Seigneur, accusing his son of the killer. The Seigneur does not deny and reveals that his son has left for England to be treated, intensifying the political stakes surrounding the trial.

At the pig's trial, the animal is acquitted when Valliere arrives with a replica pig, claiming the original pig absconded at the time of the killing. The courtroom scene reframes the evidence and questions the town's certainty.

As Courtois leaves, a knight arrives just as Jeannine had foretold. The knight removes his armor to reveal buboes of the Black Death, signaling a looming plague and the larger horror behind the town's trials.