M. Butterfly (1993)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

1 October 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | China | 1960s | Cultural Revolution | Betrayal

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and a brief bloody sequence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Iceland:12 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Geffen Pictures

Trivia:

Peter Weir passed on the chance to direct.

Quotes:

Rene Gallimard: You made me see the beauty of the story, of her death. It's, it's pure sacrifice. He's not worthy of it, but what can she do? She loves him so much. It's very beautiful.
Song Liling: Well, yes, to a Westerner.
Rene Gallimard: I beg your pardon?
Song Liling: It's one of your favorite fantasies, isn't it? The submissive Oriental woman and the cruel white man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Directors: The Films of David Cronenberg (#1.10)" (1999)

Enigmatic Scorcher and FASCINATING!

Jeremy Irons and John Lone (who plays the character, Song Liling) should both have gotten academy awards for their performance in this incredibly enigmatic and captivating scorcher of a movie. This is a completely new twist on on the classic opera and may even be more of a believable story because it is so creatively wicked. It has a sexual tension that holds throughout the whole movie and is entirely played out in the mind and sensuously mesmerizing at the same time.

It's an emotionally tortuous journey that Jeremy Irons makes in the name of love (?), and more likely addicted passion. John Lone's performance is exceptional as one who is just as driven and hooked psychologically in his own way as what it is in him that drives him to fulfill Jeremy's ecstasy and descent into irretrievable madness.

Definitely one of the best movies ever! I hope this makes it to DVD sometime soon as it surely deserves to be seen again and again.