Ove Musting says pig slaughter symbolises losing something precious

Director Ove Musting told ERR’s programme Hommik Anuga that his feature film Seat Slaughter uses pig slaughter as a metaphor for giving up or being deprived of something precious.

The film, which reaches cinemas on September 25, explores disappearing traditions and rural life in decline, Musting said. He has carried the story with him for more than a decade.

“It is our identity, what we are made of. Most Estonians consist of a piece of a smoke sauna and a house with a gabled roof, some difficulties and some joy. Pig slaughter is a metaphor for me: it means giving up or being deprived of something precious,” Musting said.

Many women declined to join the film because of its title, he added, even though they did not know what the film was about. Some of his friends’ wives had also said that women would not go to the cinema to watch a film with such a title.

Egon Nuter, who plays farmer Ants, said the title did not put him off because he had grown up in a family with many animals. He said he had witnessed a pig slaughter once, recalling that although the procedure itself was unpleasant because there was no skilled person to carry it out, the food made afterwards was very good, including kidney pies.

“We have such beautiful countryside. Why can’t we be content with what we have? Why don’t we communicate with one another and know how to be happy? This film encourages broader thoughts. It is not simply a story about killing a pig,” Nuter said.

Musting said rural work had occupied most of his childhood. Helping in the barn was his job even though he and his siblings were minors, he said, adding that his brother still lives that way. Musting said rural life had enriched him and formed part of his identity, which he was proud of.

He also spoke with respect about his father, who grew up without a father and had to work with his brother and sister and help their mother to provide food for the family. His father later regretted having only a specialised secondary education, but invented many things himself, Musting said.

Musting said Seat Slaughter could be the last Estonian film to show so many animals. The production was filmed before outbreaks affecting cattle and pigs, he said, and regulations are now much stricter for the safety of animal keepers. The film has no age restriction, but Musting said watching it with children would require parental explanation.