M. Butterfly (1993)

In 1960s China, French diplomat Rene Gallimard falls in love with an opera singer, Song Liling - but Song is not at all who Gallimard thinks.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

David Henry Hwang (play), David Henry Hwang (screenplay)

Stars:

Jeremy Irons, John Lone, Barbara Sukowa

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Irons	...	René Gallimard
John Lone	...	Song Liling
Barbara Sukowa	...	Jeanne Gallimard
Ian Richardson	...	Ambassador Toulon
Annabel Leventon	...	Frau Baden
Shizuko Hoshi	...	Comrade Chin
Richard McMillan	...	Embassy Colleague
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Agent Etancelin
David Hemblen	...	Intelligence Officer #1
Damir Andrei	...	Intelligence Officer #2
Antony Parr	...	Intelligence Officer #3
Margaret Ma	...	Song's Maid
Tristram Jellinek	...	Defense Attorney
Philip McGough	...	Prosecution Attorney
David Neal	...	Judge

Storyline

During the Cultural Revolution in China in the mid-1960s, a French diplomat falls in love with a singer in the Beijing Opera. Interwoven with allusions to the Puccini opera "Madama Butterfly", a story of love and betrayal unfolds.

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Plot Keywords:

opera | china | betrayal | 1960s | spy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and a brief bloody sequence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

M. Baterflaj

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Gross:

$1,499,795 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geffen Pictures, Miranda Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Chinese opera being performed by Song near the beginning is called "Gui Fei Zui Jiu", aka "The Drunken Concubine", aka "Yang Gui Fei Gets Tipsy".

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Goofs

The word accordion is misspelled "accordian" in the closing credits.

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Quotes

Drunk in Paris bar: [Hearing pro-Communist students parading outside] God damn it! Must be those fucking students again! Talk about China? I'll be you if go out that door you'll think you're back in Beijing! Every damn leftist student in Paris has Mao's little red book in his hand, and a red firecracker up his ass!

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Connections

Featured in The Directors: The Films of David Cronenberg (1999)

User Reviews

Sometimes love knows no gender

Or, conversely, love doesn't know the gender it loves.

Jeremy Irons and John Lone star in "M. Butterfly," based on the hit play by David Henry Hwang. In the mid-'60s, while the cultural revolution is going on in China, French Vice Consul Phillipe Bouriscot (Irons) falls in love with a singer, Song (John Lone), who performs with the Bejing opera. He believes Song to be a woman. And, like the story of "Madame Butterfly," there is love, there is betrayal, and there is humiliation.

As unbelievable as this story might be, it's based on a true one. The film doesn't go into how this fantasy was actually executed physically, but in point of fact, in real life, the character played by Irons believed he had gotten Song pregnant. Odd but true.

David Cronenberg does an excellent job with this dark, mysterious film, and the actors are terrific, each character hooked on this fantasy in his own way. The end of the film is haunting.

Well worth seeing.