Le Papillon ("The Butterfly") is a lightweight, charming, and mostly successful film. This story of a crotchety old butterfly collector (Michel Serrault) traveling--at first unwittingly--with a precocious young girl (Claire Bouanich) offers no new Insights On The Human Condition, but is pleasant, funny and touching in parts.
Both leads are very effective; in particular Claire Bouanich as youngster Elsa is very cute without ever becoming too hammy.
***************** Now, HERE IS THE MILD NON-SPECIFIC SPOILER: This movie works quite nicely all the way up to the end, at which point writer/director Philippe Muyl decides to throw in the SECOND of two rather miraculous coincidences. The first coincidence/miracle is wonderful, and could have provided more than enough "magic" for the conclusion. But, it seems Muyl doesn't trust the emotional weight of his own story and tacks on, in what's almost a throwaway line, a second amazing coincidence. For me at least, this cheapens the film somewhat. *****************END OF SPOILER
That caveat notwithstanding, I still enjoyed it very much and recommend it to viewers who are looking for a bit of light entertainment with beautiful scenery and excellent performances. 7.5/10
Both leads are very effective; in particular Claire Bouanich as youngster Elsa is very cute without ever becoming too hammy.
***************** Now, HERE IS THE MILD NON-SPECIFIC SPOILER: This movie works quite nicely all the way up to the end, at which point writer/director Philippe Muyl decides to throw in the SECOND of two rather miraculous coincidences. The first coincidence/miracle is wonderful, and could have provided more than enough "magic" for the conclusion. But, it seems Muyl doesn't trust the emotional weight of his own story and tacks on, in what's almost a throwaway line, a second amazing coincidence. For me at least, this cheapens the film somewhat. *****************END OF SPOILER
That caveat notwithstanding, I still enjoyed it very much and recommend it to viewers who are looking for a bit of light entertainment with beautiful scenery and excellent performances. 7.5/10