Films & Events

School Days With a Pig

A new elementary school teacher who wants his students to learn “the real connection between life and food” has a proposal for his sixth-grade class: They’ll adopt a piglet and care for it over the course of a year, but at the end of the year, the pig will be eaten. The students eagerly accept the challenge. After all, the end of the year is a long way away and the wriggling piglet is right there in the classroom. They name it “P-Chan,” build a special enclosure on the playground, and take turns with the chores of brushing and feeding it. But the more attached they grow to P-Chan, the more difficult the question of the pig’s fate becomes. Based on a true story that became a subject of national controversy in Japan, School Days With a Pig is a thoughtful and warmhearted engagement with the adult issues of consumption, quality of life, and personal responsibility as seen through the eyes of children.

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Cast & Crew

Director: Tetsu Maeda
Producer: Toshihiro Isomi
Editor: Koichi Takahashi
Screenwriter: Hirotoshi Kobayashi, based on the novel by Yasushi Kuroda
Cinematographer: Yasuhito Kasai
Awards: Tokyo International Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award, Toyota Earth Grand Prix Jury Award)

Music: Shoji Yoshioka
Principal Cast: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Mieko Harada, Ren Osugi
Filmography: Dolphin Blue: Fuji mou ichido sora e (2007); A Cheerful Gang Turns the Earth (2006); Gakincho rock (2004); Pole Toppling (2003); Swing Man (2000)
World Sales: Nikkatsu

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(3 reviews)

user reviews

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    Wow, Jun 01, 2009

    By Daniel Paredes

    “I didn't expect this movie to hit me on such an emotional level. The child actors were outstanding!”

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    Great family film that puts kids in the spotlight, Jun 01, 2009

    By Zheng Wang

    “A wonderful film that covers both the awe-inducing side of the story (kids playing with the pig) and the more serious side (kids deciding what to do with the pig). I was highly impressed with the classroom discussion scenes - How did they film it so well with so many kids speaking so many lines?” … full review

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    Cute story but ran a little long , Jun 02, 2009

    By Jean Yang

    “I found this movie both very simple and realistic, though not without some dramatic flair. The children's attachment to their class pet, P-chan the pig, was portrayed creatively and endearingly through montage-like footage of children caring for the pig, talking about the pig with their families,” … full review

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Screenings

Egyptian Theatre
May 28, 2009 4:30 PM
4:30 PM (Date has passed.)
Pacific Place Cinema
May 31, 2009 9:15 PM
9:15 PM (Date has passed.)