Acclaimed by critics and featuring legendary star Fernando Fernan Gomez (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) BUTTERFLY is a heartwarming tale about a young boy growing up in a small Spanish town. Moncho is timid and fearful as he starts ... more »school for the first time. But with the nurturing guidance of his kind and devoted teacher Don Gregorio (Gomez) a world of possibilities begins to open up for young Moncho. As the school year comes to a close however civil war begins sweeping across the country forcing the boy's family and community to choose between the fight for freedom and the threat of persecution! An amazing story of family and friendship during a time of extreme conflict -- you're sure to enjoy this magical motion picture!System Requirements:Actors/Actresses: Fernando Fernan Gomez; Manuel Lozano; Uxia Blanco; Gonzalo Uriarte; Alexis De Los Santos; Jesus Castejon; Guillermo Toledo; Elena Mar Fernandez; Tamar Novas; Tatan; Roberto Vidal; Celso Parada; Celso Bugallo; Tucho Lagares; Milagros Jimenez Directors: Jose Luis Cuerda Writers: Rafael Azcona; Jose Luis Cuerda; Manuel Rivas Theatrical Release Dates: 1999 Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN/LATIN UPC: 786936144666 Manufacturer No: 02164400« less
Leah G. (Leahbelle) from NIPOMO, CA Reviewed on 9/14/2020...
This was a mostly delightful story about a little boy and his teacher. It takes place in Spain with subtitles, which don't bother me at all. If I remember correctly, I believe it might also have the option to watch it spoken in English, although the actors are speaking Spanish.
Movie Reviews
Absorbing Story about a Boy and a Teacher in Spain
Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 01/14/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
""Butterfly" is an absorbing story about young, innocent brothers of a tailor living in Spain just before the civil war begins, and as you already may guess, it begins sweetly and ends sadly. The focus of the film is set on the relationship between the younger brother Moncho and his retiring old teacher. And around them well-drawn people of a Spanish village in winter, 1936, are portrayed. You may think historical knowledge is needed; actually, though it helps, not exactly necessary. The film skillfully tells a chain of episodes about a Chinese girl (with whom elder brother falls in love) or a woman who seems more attracted to her dog than to her lover. But the most impressive scene is, as everyone would agree, the heart-rending ending. Probably, interpretation of the scene in point would differ among viewers (listen the boy's last word; it's the key), but as to its stunning reality revealing the innate weakness of human beings, no one would disagree. Is the friendship between the boy and the teacher really ended? The director, I think, took the best course, leaving the answer up to us. Mine is that it is a hopeful one. The teacher knows, and underdstands, the kid had to do it. I'd like to think so.The film's script was made from Manuel Rivas's original book, collection of short stories, and the film used several stories to compose the whole story, so this process may explain a little slack development of the film. Sometimes "Butterfly" suffers from a loose connection between rather irrelevant episodes, but it is saved by its wonderful photography capturing the beauty of the country. Remember, the story is slow, but the entire film finally makes up for it. It is sad, but not without hope.One thing more: the film's music was composed by Alejandro Amenabar, director of "Open Your Eyes" (later remade as "Vanilla Sky") and "The Others." He is responsible for the music of those two movies, too."
Butterflies are not always free
Billy J. Hobbs | Tyler, TX USA | 12/15/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Butterfly" ("Mariposa" in Spanish) is a Spanish film set in 1936, in the pre-stages of the Spanish Civil War.
Filmed in the standard European method (i.e., very well!), this film brings together Moncho (a young boy), his family, his village and its politics, and an aging school teacher, who only wants to teach that everyone should live free (or "at least one generation of Spaniards should live free!"). It is a heartwarming and heartbreaking film about the struggles, internally and outwardly: of trying to grow up and understand an adult world that seems bizarre at best, of wrestling with a myriad of political "solutions" facing the country at the time (which pitted Church against king against the fascists against the communists, thus leaving innocent Moncho completely confused.
The film quite adequately carries these themes and, alas, with no happy conclusion (it's not Hollywood, after all!). Moncho sees this adult world come crashing down upon his own sensibilities, and being six years old, find himself unable not only to cope with it but not to be able to understand it at all, try as hard as he may. Politics wins out, at least at this time and civil liberties (certainly a stranger to Spain at that time in history) once more fall by the camino real.
"Butterfly" makes a striking statement about the Human Condition, and how some cope, some reject, some distort, and some accept it. Seen from the perspective of Americans who seem to take civil liberties for granted, freedom on every corner, and rights in abundance, we can only feel saddened that these citizens know not freedom's ring. We do know, however, even though perhaps in another venue, the heartbreak of deception, of lost love, of being manipulated by false forces.
This is a powerful film that, subtitles aside (American audiences don't always "accept" them!), is worth the effort."
Beautiful movie!
Benjamin W. Waterhouse | Portland, OR | 05/03/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Another reviewer lamented this film's "obscure metaphors." Here's a hint: there aren't any. No knowledge of Spanish history is needed to understand any part of this film besides the very end, and anyone who took world history should know that the fascists carted off everyone they didn't like at the beginning of the civil war. To say that the western world has forgotten the Spanish civil war is akin to saying that the western world has forgotten the holocaust, the only greater atrocity ever committed on European soil.But about the movie itself. The cinematography is beautiful, and the acting is excellent. The subtitles are for the hearing impared, which is a little annoying, but it's easy enough to ignore "[dog barks]." The only fault I can find with the film is that it tends to digress a little too much; there are several peripheral episodes that never really go anywhere. The soundtrack is amazing. Definitely one of the best movies to come out of Spain in a long time!"
Childhood Innocence Abused By Political Strife
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 01/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"'La Lengua de las mariposas' (BUTTERFLY) is a small miracle of a film, one of those magical experiences that reminds us about the beauty of life but also about the realities of living in a world ruled by politics and adversity and how all of that affects the vulnerable child. The Spanish title refers to the tongue of the butterfly that must trust the throat of a flower to deliver its nectar and at the same time the flower must trust the deliverer of its procreation. And there is much to be found in that brief title.
The time is 1936 in the region of Galicia in Spain when the country is on the verge of a civil war. We meet Moncho (Manuel Lozano, an amazing child actor) who is also known as Sparrow, who lives with his tailor father and housewife mother and older brother Andrés (Alexis de los Santos) who plays the saxophone. Moncho is to begin school and is terrified of being ridiculed because of the breathing apparatus he must carry to treat his asthma. But to school he goes and there he is taken under the wing of the kind old teacher Don Gregorio (the brilliant Fernando Fernán Gómez) who gently introduces Moncho to the finer things in education - the observation of nature and the miracles of life. Moncho makes friends with Roque (Tamar Novas) and together the lads discover some of the realities of life: they observe a bizarre sexual encounter which later will reveal much about Moncho's family, and they begin to learn about the political adversity that colors the lives of the conservative Catholic little community. Andrés falls in love with a Chinese girl and therein lies another complex lesson in life. Eventually the political life comes to a head and the entry of Franco's regime divides the people between republicanism and communism, and Moncho must face the cruelties that befall his mentor as he must side with his family. And the effect of the loving, meaningful relationship between teacher and pupil is left for the viewer to decide.
As directed by José Luis Cuerda and written by Cuerda and Rafael Azcona based on stories by Galician writer and journalist Manuel Rivas, the film, while always a work of great beauty and tenderness, feels a bit fragmented at times, probably due to the fact that separate stories were combined in one film, leaving portions of some sidebars with an incomplete resolution. But the wonder of the film lies in the acting by both Fernando Fernán Gómez and Manuel Lozano who together create a memorable bond that already has become a cinematic gold standard. The cinematography by Javier G. Salmones and the simple but note perfect musical score by Alejandro Amenábar set standards for Spanish filmmaking.
This is a story to inform and to remind us how we as human beings are prone to follow external influences more than obeying our hearts and caring for our souls. BUTTERFLY paints a vivid portrait of Spain on the knife of revolution and the effects such changes can make in the eyes of a child. It is a brilliant little movie. In Spanish and Latin with English subtitles. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 07
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Beautiful
Margaret Dybala | Pearland, Texas United States | 01/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This film is about a shy, intelligent little boy who is nurtured by a wonderful, aging teacher. To see the old man imparting knowledge to these children is very touching.
It is also about the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and how war can twist people, causing them to behave in dispicable ways. I don't want to say too much, lest I give away the marvelous end.
But I recommend this movie 100%. It is wonderful for its moral, but also for the lovely performances."