Butterfly (1999)

Acclaimed by critics and featuring legendary star Fernando Fernan Gomez (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) BUTTERFLY is a heartwarming tale about a young boy growing up in a small Spanish town. Moncho is timid and fearful as he starts school for the first time. But with the nurturing guidance of his kind and devoted teacher Don Gregorio (Gomez) a world of possibilities begins to open up for young Moncho. As the school year comes to a close however civil war begins sweeping across the country forcing the boy's family and community to choose between the fight for freedom and the threat of persecution! An amazing story of family and friendship during a time of extreme conflict -- you're sure to enjoy this magical motion picture!System Requirements:Actors/Actresses: Fernando Fernan Gomez; Manuel Lozano; Uxia Blanco; Gonzalo Uriarte; Alexis De Los Santos; Jesus Castejon; Guillermo Toledo; Elena Mar Fernandez; Tamar Novas; Tatan; Roberto Vidal; Celso Parada; Celso Bugallo; Tucho Lagares; Milagros Jimenez Directors: Jose Luis Cuerda Writers: Rafael Azcona; Jose Luis Cuerda; Manuel Rivas Theatrical Release Dates: 1999 Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN/LATIN UPC: 786936144666 Manufacturer No: 02164400 Product Description

A mi me encanta esa película :)

Esa película, "La Lengua de Las Mariposas" (en español) es casi perfecta con su explicación de la Guerra Civil de españa. Es buena cosa a usar en clases o para diversión. :) El chiquito es bonito y muy buen actor :) Y como siempre, Gómez actua con emoción y realidad. A mi me encanta!!! August 21, 2008

Spectacular, Sublime

This film is a gem - precious, innocent, sublime, and subtle yet so rich. Spain viewed through the innocent eyes of a young boy, and the sensitive eyes of his older teacher. Being able to appreciate it in Spanish is even a greater gift. This film ranks right up there with the Chinese film, The King of Masks, and, French film Les Choristes. There are not enough stars in the universe to give this film. August 28, 2007

Beautiful but incomplete

The story is poignant, to say the least. The acting is perfect--both the beautiful young boy and the lovely old man. The photography is lovely. The scenes of village life at that time are charming. Life looked almost like Paradise for a while. Politics happened and people suffered.

I failed to give this very touhing film five stars because I think it lacks as a work of art. It is imbalanced. There is so much importance given to the deep relationship of the boy and his family to the esteemed schoolteacher and then suddenly, with not enough preparation, we are subjected to the terrible cruelty of the final scene. I kept expecting something later to tie in the two extremes---perhaps the boy in later life, showing how the schoolteacher had influenced him for the good....something, anything. Leaving us with the tragedy unresolved was realistic, in one sense, but horribly upsetting and unsatisfying. As a political statement, it was surely justified, but as a work of art, it cheated us. May 17, 2007

A wonderful glimpse into life during a civil war.

"Butterfly" is a wonderful glimpse of what life is/can be like for noncombatants during a civil war. I use the term "noncombatants" loosely here because as you go through the film that everyone is a combatant in some way, shape or form when civil war is going on around you: whose business do you support, who do you elect mayor and, perhaps most strikingly, what do you allow your kids to be taught in school? These are the questions that tear a small Spanish town apart at the seams during the Spanish Civil War in the mid-1920s. At the heart of the movie is a painfully shy boy who is mentored by a kind and open-minded teacher. Unfortunately, the politics of the town consipire against the two and, as the plot unfolds, the teacher and the boy must make choices that shape their futures.

This is a must see movie for anyone wanting to understand what can happen to reasonable and intelligent people when their beliefs and their families come under fire (literally). This movie is time very well spent. May 10, 2007

Childhood Innocence Abused By Political Strife

'La Lengua de las mariposas' (BUTTERFLY) is a small miracle of a film, one of those magical experiences that reminds us about the beauty of life but also about the realities of living in a world ruled by politics and adversity and how all of that affects the vulnerable child. The Spanish title refers to the tongue of the butterfly that must trust the throat of a flower to deliver its nectar and at the same time the flower must trust the deliverer of its procreation. And there is much to be found in that brief title.

The time is 1936 in the region of Galicia in Spain when the country is on the verge of a civil war. We meet Moncho (Manuel Lozano, an amazing child actor) who is also known as Sparrow, who lives with his tailor father and housewife mother and older brother Andrés (Alexis de los Santos) who plays the saxophone. Moncho is to begin school and is terrified of being ridiculed because of the breathing apparatus he must carry to treat his asthma. But to school he goes and there he is taken under the wing of the kind old teacher Don Gregorio (the brilliant Fernando Fernán Gómez) who gently introduces Moncho to the finer things in education - the observation of nature and the miracles of life. Moncho makes friends with Roque (Tamar Novas) and together the lads discover some of the realities of life: they observe a bizarre sexual encounter which later will reveal much about Moncho's family, and they begin to learn about the political adversity that colors the lives of the conservative Catholic little community. Andrés falls in love with a Chinese girl and therein lies another complex lesson in life. Eventually the political life comes to a head and the entry of Franco's regime divides the people between republicanism and communism, and Moncho must face the cruelties that befall his mentor as he must side with his family. And the effect of the loving, meaningful relationship between teacher and pupil is left for the viewer to decide.

As directed by José Luis Cuerda and written by Cuerda and Rafael Azcona based on stories by Galician writer and journalist Manuel Rivas, the film, while always a work of great beauty and tenderness, feels a bit fragmented at times, probably due to the fact that separate stories were combined in one film, leaving portions of some sidebars with an incomplete resolution. But the wonder of the film lies in the acting by both Fernando Fernán Gómez and Manuel Lozano who together create a memorable bond that already has become a cinematic gold standard. The cinematography by Javier G. Salmones and the simple but note perfect musical score by Alejandro Amenábar set standards for Spanish filmmaking.

This is a story to inform and to remind us how we as human beings are prone to follow external influences more than obeying our hearts and caring for our souls. BUTTERFLY paints a vivid portrait of Spain on the knife of revolution and the effects such changes can make in the eyes of a child. It is a brilliant little movie. In Spanish and Latin with English subtitles. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 07
January 21, 2007

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