M. Butterfly (film)

M. Butterfly is a 1993 American romantic drama film directed by David Cronenberg. The screenplay was written by David Henry Hwang based on his play of the same name. The film stars Jeremy Irons and John Lone, with Ian Richardson, Barbara Sukowa, and Annabel Leventon.[1] The story is loosely based on true events which involved French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Chinese opera singer Shi Pei Pu.

This article is about the Cronenberg film. For the play, see M. Butterfly. For the Butterfly Lovers legend, see Butterfly Lovers. For the Madame Butterfly original story, see Madame Butterfly (short story). For the Puccini opera Madama Butterfly, see Madama Butterfly. For the 1915 Madame Butterfly film, see Madame Butterfly (1915 film). For the 1919 Madame Butterfly film, see Harakiri (1919 film). For the 1932 Madame Butterfly film, see Madame Butterfly (1932 film). For other uses, see Madame Butterfly (disambiguation).
M. Butterfly
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Cronenberg
Screenplay byDavid Henry Hwang
Based onM. Butterfly
by David Henry Hwang
Produced byGabriella Martinelli
Starring
CinematographyPeter Suschitzky
Edited byRonald Sanders
Music byHoward Shore
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • October 1, 1993 (1993-10-01)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,498,795

Synopsis

René Gallimard (Jeremy Irons) is a French diplomat assigned to Beijing, China in the 1960s. He becomes infatuated with a Peking opera performer, Song Liling (John Lone), who spies on him for the government of the People's Republic of China. Their affair lasts for 20 years, and they subsequently marry, with Gallimard all the while apparently unaware, or willfully ignorant, of the fact that in Peking opera Dan roles were traditionally performed by men.

Cast

Differences with real life events

At the end of the film, Gallimard kills himself. The man the character is based on, Bernard Boursicot, did not succeed in doing so in real life.

Themes

One theme of the film is Orientalist stereotypes, but Cronenberg removed many of the political overtones from the story in order to focus more intensely on the relationship between Gallimard and Song. A key line in the film is "Only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act."

Reception

M. Butterfly grossed $1,500,000 in the domestic box office.[2]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 45%, based on 22 reviews, and an average rating of 5.60/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "David Cronenberg reins in his provocative sensibility and handles delicate material with restraint, yielding a disappointing adaptation that flattens M. Butterfly into a tedious soap opera."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[4]

See also

References
  1. "M. Butterfly (1993)". IMDb. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  2. M. Butterfly at Box Office Mojo
  3. M. Butterfly at Rotten Tomatoes
  4. M. Butterfly at Metacritic
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