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

Song Liling: Under the robes, beneath everything, it was always me. Tell me you adore me.
Rene Gallimard: How could you, who understood me so well, make such a mistake? You've shown me your true self, and what I love was the lie, perfect lie, that's been destroyed.
Song Liling: You never really loved me.
Rene Gallimard: I'm a man who loved a woman created by a man. Anything else simply falls short.

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Connections

Referenced in Lolita (1997)

User Reviews

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.