Search - Disco Pigs [HD DVD] on HD DVD

One of the best movies I've seen in a LONG time

M. Niebergall | 01/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The tag line for this movie is "90 minutes you'll never forget!" and believe me, you won't.Pig and Runt are best friends, twins from different mothers who have barely spent a minute apart. As a result, they have created their own private world, ignoring those around them. Though it sounds like a fairy tale scenario, it definitely isn't. They've lived in their own world so long, a world apart seems painful, even more so when Runt begins to search for something more.The casual viewer may watch this movie thinking Pig is absolutely mad and a very unlikeable character. But I don't believe this is so. Pig has a very pure, very raw love for Runt. So pure and so overpowering that it overcomes any morality or sense of right and wrong that he might have. All that matters is that he and Runt stay together, no matter what. He is not an evil character. He is simply incapable of understanding the real world. Runt, on the other hand, is a very strong, almost level-headed girl who knows that there is a world beyond Pig. A world with people in it, with more love. Love that won't smother her or cling to her. She loves Pig, but is unable to comprehend his level of commitment to her. As they both say, they are the other's world. But Runt is the only one who understands that these two worlds have the ability to merge.This movie is one of the best I have ever seen. The actors understand their characters and live in their scenes. You don't see performances like the ones Cillian Murphy and Elaine Cassidy put forth very often. Pig and Runt are both extremely likeable characters and there were points where I rooted for both of them, despite their actions. The accents and secret language, to me, were easy to understand and gave it that ethereal, surreal feel. Innocence amid the madness. The tag line doesn't lie. These 90 minutes will stay with you for a very very long time."

Original and refreshing, if flawed

C. Miller | Portland, OR | 04/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Disco Pigs" is the story of two Irish teenagers, Pig (Cillian Murphy) and Runt (Elaine Cassidy), who have been inseparable since birth. Born moments apart, they live next door to one another in Cork, speak their own language, live by their own rules, and generally do their best to ignore everyone else around them. So far, they have managed to keep the outside world from creeping into their sur-reality, in which they imagine searching for a palace where they will be king and queen someday.But the real world closes in and threatens this when Runt is sent away to a vocational school, and Pig realizes his world is nothing without her. He tries to win Runt back and is lost when it seems Runt may not feel as strongly as he does.Cillian Murphy is nothing short of extraordinary as Pig, teetering on the line between sanity and madness as he struggles to hold on to the world he and Runt have created, just as he tries to convince her to do the same. Murphy clearly knows the character well, having originated the role in its successful theatrical run, and it shows. The character practically jumps off the screen, he is so alive and present in each moment. Elaine Cassidy seems less comfortable in the role of Runt. She is a highly evocative actor, capable of registering a spectrum of emotions in a single glance, but her performance here is opaque and unfocused at times. Murphy may get the fireworks as the volatile Pig, but Cassidy never registers Runt's emotional center.This is director Kirsten Sheridan's first full-length film, and while it bodes well for her future, "Disco Pigs" is far from a perfect film, lagging at times and indulging itself in others. It is a fascinating character study in which a world of contrasts is created. The frenetic action of the Cork discos pitted against the calmness of the sea show how different Pig and Runt have become and how divergent their futures may be. But Sheridan almost tries to put too much symbolism and too many allusions in the film and doesn't give herself enough time to flesh those out, making the film seem muddled and rushed in places.All in all, though, "Disco Pigs" is an original, though-provoking film."

A Classic Tale Of Tragic Love

The Northern Light | Europa, Close to Ultima Thule | 02/21/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have watched this film several times over the years, and it really is unforgettable. Even though it is also disturbingly violent and psychologically unstable, it is an extremely involving film about all-consuming love and friendship. A boy, Darin, and a girl, Sinead, are born on the same day and live next to each other, sleeping literally next to each other, even though in different houses. They hang out with each other all day long all through childhood and into early adulthood, their 17th birthday being only 17 days away. Their friendship is so intense they shut the entire world outside their little circle out. Sinead, nicknamed "Runt" is the more quiet and calm of the two, while Darin, nicknamed "Pig", is confused and a very troubled youth, which increasingly makes its appearance.

As their birthday approaches, Darin makes clear to Sinead that his love is more than a friend's love, and being his best (only) friend and "whole world", as he says, she can't reject him in any normal way. Their relationship gets strained to the maximum when she is sent away to a vocational school, Darin being judged to be a "lost cause". From there on, there is no turning back for Darin, as his almost Faustian love for her makes him burn all bridges. I can see something of myself as a youngster in the Irish lad, the omnipresent love, and the feeling that she is the entire world.

Even though the film is extremely violent at times, and you just want it to end at times, it is also at the same time incredibly beautiful, just as the actress Elaine Cassidy herself. The two actors are great examples of Irish anthropology, she being the darker strain and him the reverse. She's got such a beautiful smile and light brown eyes the film is worth watching just for that.

If you want a beautiful tale of love and tragedy, with the added bonus of an all-European cast and a splendid view of Ireland, look no further, but be aware that this is no children's film."

Lonely Praise.

kontrance | Columbus, OH United States | 07/04/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Immediately after watching Disco Pigs, I sat down at my computer and looked up the title...I noticed immediately that several of the reviews were very negative - one or two stars. This puzzled me to no end, as I had just spent 90 minutes watching a thoroughly engrossing film. And after reading the reviews, I'm still puzzled. I could not find a single justification for any of the arguments put forth.
The back cover makes a splendid correlation between the characters' world and Bjork lyrics. We drift and float through their reality, but somehow come out of it feeling as though we have experienced something quite visceral. Yes, the movie is far more abstract and poetic than your average Hollywood film. But it's a far cry from avant garde. There exists a defined (even tradtional) plot structure, and the audience never gets the feeling that anything about the movie is pretentious.
The heavy accents make a few lines of dialogue hard to discern, especially since Pig and Runt (the two main characters) have reverted so far into their world as to have invented new words and phrases (a la Clockwork Orange). Regardless of this fact, there was never a time when I was unsure what was going on - which says something about the directing in and of itself...Great foreign film, small time-commitment, and it's only a few dollars to rent. Do yourself a favor and stop by the video store tonight..."