PORCILE presents two parallel storylines which comment upon one another. In a possibly medieval, possibly mythical land, a young man (Pierre Clementi, BELLE DE JOUR) has committed patricide and cannibalism and now wanders the deserts consuming unfortunates. He is eventually joined by another cannibal (Franco Citti, ACCATONE) and some young women in a quasi-hippie commune. In modern times (the real world), bourgeois Julian (Jean-Pierre Leaud, TWO ENGLISH GIRLS), the son of former Nazi-turned-industrialist Mr. Klotz (Alberto Lionello, THE BIRDS, THE BEES, AND THE ITALIANS) is psychologically paralyzed; he neither loves nor hates his father, he neither rebels nor conforms. He does not aspire to inheriting his father's business nor to the socialist ideals of his equally bourgeois would-be fiancee Ida (Anna Wiazemsky, TEOREMA). Julian instead prefers instead to commune with the livestock of the Klotz's "Italianate" German estate. Caught between his father and fiancee, Julian goes into a self-induced coma; however, Mr. Klotz's industrial legacy is under threat from another ex-Nazi-turned-business rival Herdhitze (Ugo Tognazzi, LA GRANDE BOUFFE).

The third installment of Pasolini's "Mythical Cycle" following MEDEA and OEDIPUS REX, PORCILE anticipates the final installment TEOREMA both visually and thematically (the desert of TEOREMA recalls the land of the cannibals here and the latter film's country villa is less grand but no less oppressive). Herdhitze has also decided to leave his company to the workers, which is what Massimo Girotti's character does at the opening of TEOREMA. The end result, however, is not as provocative. The cinematography is the combined work of Tonino Delli Colli (THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY), Giuseppe Ruzzolini (OEDIPUS REX), and Armando Nannuzzi (THE DAMNED); but it is difficult to discern their individual contributions. Combined with Pasolini collaborators Danilo Donati's costumes and Nino Baragli's editing, the film seems visually drab at first but it gradually reveals stunning images and textures that lend depth and context to the talkier sequences. Benedetto Ghiglia's "commento musicale" is often recorded low in the mix and accents rather than accompanies sequences. Pasolini regulars Laura Betti (TEOREMA) dubbed Margarita Lozano (A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS) - who plays Julian's mother - for the final mix and Ninetto Davoli (HAWKS AND SPARROWS) plays a variation of his usual clown character during the climactic moments of the cannibal storyline.