You are here:

When Pigs Have Wings

Name: When Pigs Have Wings
Director: Sylvain Estibal
Released: 2011
Duration: 98 min

Representation Score

6.1/10

Good

2011

Director

Sylvain Estibal

Runtime

98 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film effectively critiques systemic issues using an absurdist premise to navigate a complex geopolitical environment. It excels by offering a multifaceted view of identity and faith rather than a single religious morality. While the narrative provides rich cultural and ethnic complexity, it lacks direct representation of LGBTQ+ identities and disabilities. The focus remains primarily on the tension between personal survival and religious dogma.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does When Pigs Have Wings have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film doesn't show explicit examples of LGBTQ+ identities or relationships. Instead, it explores themes of forbidden love through a lens of religious and societal subversion.

How does When Pigs Have Wings portray gender?

Fair

Jafaar deals with a patriarchal society, while Yelena challenges traditional gender roles through her unconventional work with pigs. These characters highlight how gendered labor roles can be questioned.

How racially and ethnically diverse is When Pigs Have Wings?

Excellent

The story avoids simplistic portrayals by focusing on the intersection of Palestinian and Jewish identities. It emphasizes a non-Western viewpoint to explore the complexities of living under systemic scrutiny.

How does When Pigs Have Wings represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film criticizes strict religious beliefs by showing how dogma can hinder survival. It uses an absurdist approach to question ideas of purity and sacredness.

Does When Pigs Have Wings include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no indication of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in the narrative.

Present on Screen

Offers a nuanced, non-Western perspective on a highly contested geopolitical landscape.
Uses an absurdist premise to critique rigid religious and military structures.
Avoids monolithic ethnic portrayals by highlighting intersecting Palestinian and Jewish identities.

Limited or Absent

Needs more explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities and non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth characters.
Lacks visible depiction of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.
Gender roles, though nuanced, still operate within a patriarchal context.

Official Synopsis

After a tempest, fishermen do not find only fish in their nets. That is what happens to Jafaar, a poor fisherman who lives poorly in Gaza. And what he hauls in is really upsetting: imagine that, a pig! An unclean animal judged impure not only by the Faith of Islam but also by the Jewish religion. Determined to get rid of the animal, Jafaar tries desperately to sell it, first to a United Nations official, then to a Jewish colony where Yelena raises pigs not for their meat but for security reasons. Of course, going unnoticed in the company of a "forbidden" animal, among his Palestinian brothers, past Israeli soldiers and under the scrutiny of Islamic fundamentalists is no bed of roses and a series of misadventures await Jafaar.

How are these scores produced? →