In 1994, Leon was released, a film that changed the way we think about genre cinema. This work by Luc Besson, which combines a crime thriller, psychological drama and an unexpectedly touching story of mentorship, instantly became a cult classic.
The plot centers on Leon, a lone professional killer, and Matilda, an orphan after her family is massacred. Their strange friendship still causes controversy and admiration. The thriller also had many interesting Easter eggs, and one of them led to the works of Hayao Miyazaki.
A reference to Hayao Miyazaki in Leon
Leon's famous phrase - "Pigs are better than people" - is not just a cynical remark, but a deliberate reference to the work of Hayao Miyazaki, built into the film at the initiative of Jean Reno. As the actor himself later admitted, this line became his personal tribute to the Japanese master of animation.
It is curious that Luc Besson, who usually strictly controls every element of his films, approved of this phrase, understanding its cultural subtext. Miyazaki really adored pigs as a symbol: these animals repeatedly appeared in his works.
Cartoon Porco Rosso
It is no coincidence that Jean Reno utters the famous phrase about the superiority of pigs over people in Leon. Several years before filming with Besson, the actor voiced the main character of the French version of Miyazaki's anime Porco Rosso - a pilot who turned into a pig-man.
In the cartoon, Marco becomes an animal after betrayal and the collapse of faith in humanity. And Leon is the same cynical loner, but he retains the remnants of kindness.
