The Advocate

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

In France in 1452, the dark superstition of the Medieval era was beginning to give way to the more enlightened attitudes of the Renaissance. But the changes were slow in coming, as Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) learns when he moves to the country village of Abbeville, owned and ruled by the Seigneur (Nicol Williamson). Courtois is a lawyer, or an "advocate" as they were called in those days, and the Seigneur has hired him to act as a public defender for those who cannot provide their own legal counsel. One odd remnant of the dark ages that Abbeville has not purged from its legal system is the practice of prosecuting animals as well as humans for crimes; as Courtois arrives, he nearly witnesses the execution of both a man and a donkey who were found guilty of bestiality (the donkey was spared at the last minute because it could not be proved that she consented to the act). So Courtois is not exactly surprised when one of his first cases finds him defending a pig against charges of murdering a small child. Courtois soon discovers that the pig belongs to Samira (Amina Annabi), a beautiful gypsy woman he finds himself falling in love with. Losing the pig would mean losing many meals down the road, so to win Samira's good tidings, Courtois must prove the pig innocent -- which means finding the real killer. However, since the Seigneur is eager to see Courtois (or anyone, for that matter) marry his daughter Filette (Lysette Anthony), his affection for Samira may not be good for his future employment prospects. This period comedy/drama also features Donald Pleasance, Ian Holm, and Michael Gough. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Surround
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Dolby Digital surround sound
  • Spanish-language track
  • Widescreen (1.85:1), enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Colin Firth - Richard Courtois
       Ian Holm - Albertus
       Donald Pleasence - Pincheon
       Nicol Williamson - The Seigneur
       Lysette Anthony - Filette
       Amina Annabi - Samira
       Jim Carter - Mathieu
       Justin Chadwick - Gerard
       Michael Gough - Magistrate Boniface
       Harriet Walter - Jeannine
       Vernon Dobtcheff - Apothecary
       Elizabeth Spriggs - Madame Langlois
       Michael Cronin - Dark Stranger
       Emil Wolk - Print Seller
       Dave Atkins - Valliere
       Peter Hudson - Sheriff's Officer
       Robert Putt - Travelling Player
       Raoul Delfosse - Blind George
       Sami Bouajila - Mahmoud
       Roy Evans - Travelling Player
       Vincent Grass - Bailiff Labatier
       Ralph Nossek - Poiccard
       Joanna Dunham - Lady Catherine d'Auferre
       Charles Dale - Witness
       Jean - Pierre Stewart - Sheriff
       Francois Lalande - Builder
       Joyce Nettles

• Director:

  Leslie Megahey

• Producer:

  David M. Thompson

• Screenwriter:

  Leslie Megahey

• Cinematographer:

  John Hooper

• Composer (Music Score):

  Alexandre Desplat

• Editor:

  Isabelle Dedieu

• Production Designer:

  Bruce Macadie

• Associate Producer:

  Dave Edwards

• Executive Producer:

  Michael Wearing

• Special Effects:

  Stuart Brisdon

REVIEW:

• Also called The Advocate, this is probably one of the stranger based-on-true-events crime dramas to emerge in the 1990s. It has all the trappings of a noir thriller -- apparently disparate plot elements that draw together like a net, a progressively less confused protagonist, supporting characters who offer cryptic utterances, and, of course, a mysterious woman -- but the setting, the French countryside in the late Middle Ages, is decidedly unusual. The plot turns upon the conceit -- based, the opening text tells us, on historical fact -- that medieval law allowed animals to be prosecuted on the same grounds as human beings. The opening scene provides dramatic illustration of the consequences of such thinking: A man and a donkey are about to be executed for the crime of bestiality; the donkey, however, is released based on testimony from character witnesses. Into this less-than-idyllic setting stumbles a naïve young lawyer (Colin Firth, who has since gone on to play less naïve and more buttoned-up characters) and his clerk (Jim Carter), who from the outset seems to know more about everything that's going on than his employer. The lawyer's comment, in an early case, that "Truth, as always, gentlemen, is simple" turns out to be the famous last words. The ensuing tangle involves the murder of a Jewish boy, the pig of the title framed as the killer, a band of itinerant Gypsies to whom the pig belongs, a jaded priest (Ian Holm), and a local landlord in little better state than the peasants he rules. The result is equal parts courtroom and historical drama, with some darkly funny moments and a clear understanding of the medieval mindset. ~ Genevieve Williams, Rovi