History Film / TheHourOfThePig

* CoitusEnsues: Courtois' encounter with the maid at the inn apparently comes out of nowhere [[spoiler:until it's revealed later that the inn doubles as the town brothel, so this was all part of the services provided. Even so, it seems to be there largely as {{fanservice}}]]. Courtois' sleeping with Samira at a later point makes much more sense in the story line.

* EroticDream: Courtois has one of Samira just before he gets woken up by the maid, who sees how "happy" it made him, and... CoitusEnsues.

A 1993 British film, released in the United States as ''The Advocate'', written and directed by Leslie Megahey and starring Creator/ColinFirth, Creator/IanHolm, Creator/DonaldPleasence, Amina Annabi and Nicol Williamson. Much of its plot is based on [[TruthInTelevision real historical trials of animals in France from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period]]. See [[http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/4/animalsontrial.php here]] for one source.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Albertus, the village priest, briefly does a double take as a nude nun walks past him in the bathhouse (just as he was discussing which people one shouldn't view naked), greeting her and then crossing himself.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Jeannine's prophecy says the towns people will be delivered from their wickedness by a knight. [[spoiler:In the end, one arrives... with the plague, which they'll be "delivered" by permanently.]]

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Both the Seigneur's children qualify, though his son is also TheSociopath.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Jeannine's prophecy.
* FrameUp: Of the pig, unsurprisingly.

* TheSociopath: The Seigneur's son, who is sent away to England for "treatment".

* WitchHunt: One erupts as Jeannine, a woman in Abbeville, is accused of enchanting the rate to eat the crops. Despite the defense of her lawyer nearly succeeding, Jeannine is convicted and hanged.

* BestialityIsDepraved: The very first sight Courtois arrived to in Abbeville is a man who's going to hang because he had sex with a donkey, who is condemned beside him. At the last moment though, a pardon arrives from the lord-for the donkey, who's deemed innocent.

A 1993 British film, released in the United States as ''The Advocate'', written and directed by Leslie Megahey and starring Creator/ColinFirth, Creator/IanHolm, Creator/DonaldPleasence, Amina Annabi and Nicol Williamson. Much of its plot is based on [[TruthInTelevision real historical trials of animals in France from the late Middle Ages to early modern period]]. See [[http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/4/animalsontrial.php here]] for one source.

Maître Richard Courtois (Firth), a lawyer, has left Paris with his clerk Mathieu, traveling to Abbeville in Ponthieu, then an independent region in Renaissance-era France, for what they believe will be a quiet, rural existence. However, the first thing they witness on arriving in the town is a man condemned for bestiality about to be hanged at the side of the donkey he sodomized. Then a pardon is given due to a mass petition from the villagers... on the donkey's behalf, who is deemed innocent, while the convicted man is hanged. After this strange arrival, Courtois quickly takes up many backlogged cases.

* TruthInTelevision: As stated above, the animal trials really occurred, with many events the film depicts based on actual cases. Maître Richard Courtois was also based on a real man, Bartholomew Chassenee, famous as an advocate in 16th-century France. The skepticism of the priest toward witchcraft is also probable, since the Catholic church mostly disclaimed it then. Thus it's unlikely another priest or him would be burned for denying it, as he claims.