Poland, 1990. At the border with Germany, Polish teenagers try to share some of the German affluence by prostituting themselves - for money, but also for make-up, clothes or drink. A painfully realistic drama made with non-professional actors.
In the border area between Poland and Germany, where Piggies is set, the word from the title ('swinki' in Polish) is synonymous with teenagers who sell their bodies. Not only for money, but for anything: clothes, perfume, drink. They think they can make use of the wealth of the Germans who live on the other side of the border (and on the other side of the river), not always realising that they are the ones being used - and abused.
Piggies is about such a teenager: Tomek, the boy who needs money to buy expensive gifts for his girlfriend. The cruel, painfully realistic film thanks some of its authenticity to the fact that the scriptwriter herself lived in the town where the story is set for 20 years. The most important roles are played by non-professional actors, for whom director Robert Glinski searched the whole of Poland. This is the eleventh feature by Glinski, who primarily made a name for himself with Hi, Tereska (2001).
PROGRAMMER NOTES
When Robert Glinski was asked whether the problem of young people prostituting themselves was something he had invented for his film or was the truth, he said that it was certainly a real problem in contemporary Poland. The modern consumer society might be one of the reasons and the problem should be discussed. As in his film Hi, Tereska!, the director reflects on a reality that is not easily acknowledged by others. On the contrary: society tends to ignore it as if it doesn’t exist. Maybe this was the reason that during the Polish National Film Festival the film remained largely unnoticed, except for the main character’s debut actor Filip Garbacz. Piggies is one of those uneasy films that is deeply moving and almost causes physical pain. An excellent new work by this director.
LC