Hog Heaven: The Pigz Brotherz Story

Hog Heaven: The Pigz Brotherz Story is a sweet and entertaining chronicle of a group of musicians called The Pigz Brotherz. This gang of performers kept the people of Raleigh, North Carolina (specifically the customers of the Berkeley Cafe) entertained for forty years; and in that time, they built a legacy and a community. In addition to telling their story, the film also touches on the modern, disheartening developments of Raleigh as a city. This is a really well put-together documentary. Whilst, structurally speaking, it’s as straightforward as a documentary gets, the act of producing it with such care is moving to this critic (as someone who has made films very similar to it, it made me nostalgic for the process of reflecting on a real person’s creative past). Our subject is endearing, the tone is positive, and overall, this real-life story leaves you smiling.

The documentary does have a small handful of issues, though nothing that by any means overshadows the film’s positives. And you argue that they mostly boil down to the hook of deconstructing how gentrification and modern housing projects in the city have diluted the artistic scene in Raleigh. It is most upsetting to witness these significant spaces of culture get torn down, and the idea of exploring this does feel important. However, the fact that this topic is what begins the film in its introduction, but later is merely touched upon, means that it feels like more of a selling point than the genuine substance of the piece. The one-minute introduction, as slick and high-octane as it is – filled with fast-paced news reports and quick cutting – is actually the aspect of the film that is the most out of place, slightly reminiscent of a trailer.

But this brings us onto the topic of editing; the filmmaking aspect which effectively builds a documentary from the ground up. This is an impeccably edited movie and certainly manages to mould a story from fragments of testimony. The filmmakers then successfully integrate lovely bits of B-roll and camcorder footage, both of which a great to watch. The B-roll is strong because of the satisfying use of a sliding dolly to capture old posters and photographs in direct, golden lighting; and the camcorder footage is just authentic and filled with personality, and it’s great to see the Pigz Brotherz perform covers of such classic songs, and the response it gets from an audience. The mix of media also creates a pleasing sense of variation in terms of the elements of the piece.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the lead singer of The Pigz Brothers, and about his passion. I mention this a lot as a critic, but maybe the most unique thing about the production of a documentary is the fact that you basically write the film in the editing, after collating all of your footage. The individuals who made this clearly have a lot of hands-on experience and knowledge in this regard and are adept at delivering something that feels complete and engaging.