More visual poetry in motion than a short film, Gospel of the Creole Pig is a beautiful yet complex dialectic on U.S. - Haitian relations. The movie poses difficult questions and offers no semblance of tidy resolution, mirroring the United States' unwillingness to take a definitive stance on aiding it's poor(est) neighbor.
A stratosphere of issues are compressed into each frame : the burden of colonial legacy; the inefficacy and dependence on humanitarian aid; race relations; and diasporic communities just to name a few. Combine this with potent symbolism, mythology, and a meditative soundtrack and you've got yourself a Quay film.
After a long pan of a littered Haitian landscape, the film begins with a close-up of a pig speaking:
I am the Creole Pig. I am what I am. I'm the pig of your ancestors. There's no other pig than me, this Creole Pig, black, apocalyptic, a pig of the New World whose blood has washed the slaves free of sin, whose flesh is your flesh, until the end of time.
In this film, Quay reminds us that we are individually multiple, and to understand ourselves, we must understand our collective and individual shadow. It is a striking portrayal of myriad Haitian issues, refracted through a pig's life.
Do yourself a favor and click on the image above to watch the film. Quay has uploaded it onto Facebook, unfortunately it is in French with French subtitles.
Do yourself a favor and click on the image above to watch the film. Quay has uploaded it onto Facebook, unfortunately it is in French with French subtitles.
To learn more about Quay and his films, check out this interview with Cinema Scope.
