M. Butterfly

a lot of stuff doesn't work here, but this is much closer to the spirit of dead ringers and the fly than i had anticipated; another perverse, tragic, even homoerotic confrontation of the ways we rationalise our most biological drives. irons is seduced by a quintessentially masculine, western fantasy, and promptly shattered by its evaporation. in cronenberg there is no more fatal mistake than a love which bypasses the flesh.

Even the ridiculously schematic nature of some scenes lightens in retrospect because the story was always about romantic ideation and therefore scripted to a fault. "Are you my butterfly? I want honesty. No false pride." If you talk and think like that, your bubble is about to burst rather sooner than later. The movie then extends that warning politically to mean all Western expeditions into Indochina, maybe even the 68 generation's love affair with communist ideas. It's an incredibly rich text.

A few minutes into M. Butterfly left me curious to why Cronenberg sought out this material, but, by the conclusion, it was quite clear. I wanted more exploration into the politics but the central relationship is full of intrigue. There is a pacing issues, to be sure, but much of this film is quite beautiful.

A real treat because this movie is damn near impossible to find (only on VHS). It is interesting but tediously slow at parts but the twist makes up for it.

The character Irons plays is somehow not privy to the fact his Chinese Opera diva is a male. Jeremy Irons the man however, is quite aware of this fact. Cronenberg uses sly camera angles to shoot around the discomfort on the face of Irons but no trickery hides reluctance too well. Exploring in depth the slide out of a top diplomatic posting would have been interesting but this is a different film with a different ending. One that at least is delved into rather than just tied up & forgotten.

Pretty decent drama, if more conventional than you'd expect from Cronenberg. The last act dragged terribly.

Great analysis of l'amour fou, with enough character and political intrigue to interest you despite its pacing (tedious). Lone is disturbingly good, like Bernal would be in his Almodovar turn. I agree with Pickpocket - it's fun to see almost solely because of its novelty and the fact it's a second Cronenberg/Irons romp.

An intelligent, searing attack on 'exoticism', gender and East-versus-West relations, unfortunately Cronenberg's adaptation falls flat overall. The pacing is sluggish, the visuals are blandly conventional and John Lone is NO Jaye Davidson, seeming too stiff and miscast with his blank features and broad shoulders to play the seductive and 'perfect' Eastern woman. With the right Butterfly to bounce off Irons' give-it-all-I've-got performance, the film would soar.

You're a weird guy David.

The film's project seems to be "Pretence," especially as it relates to the viewer and the attempt to retain ambiguity (ie. did he know?) but I suppose my score reflects my own lack of interest in the game being played.

Said's Orientalism as movie. The politics of the epistemology of the aesthetics of an encounter. How do we know how to interpret Other surfaces? Can we with certainty? What are the power relations at play? Look at the mansion after its appropriation or the paddy wagon scene, for example. If we fail to understand the contrived nature of appearances, the artifice of the world, we will be left with only the falsity of a shoddy 3D rendering or a suicidal masked performance instead of the real.

A brilliantly conceived and written story, but it feels singularly directed to viewers unfamiliar with Hwang's original play. So much is invested in the big reveal near the end that viewers familiar with the general story will find it kind of toys with itself. Still a delight to watch Hwang adroitly make his points through brilliant performances by Irons and Lone.

Our Daily Free Stream: David Cronenberg - M Butterfly. Wie ist es möglich, einen Mann 20 Jahre lang zu lieben und dabei zu glauben, er sei eine Frau? Das soll auch noch einem Franzosen passieren (wo doch die Franzosen spezialisiert sind auf sexuelle Angelegenheiten!)... die ganze Rezension und weitere Filme mit dem Schauplatz China auf cinegeek.de

David Cronenberg #5

67.000

For a story that telegraphs its "twist" (if you can call it that) so well in advance, it works remarkably well, and the story deconstructs the hell out of the classic version very nicely. But it still feels a bit like Cronenberg Light, and as good as Irons is, you still spend a little too much time going "Yeah, I see how this is going to end, get to it."

An amazingly atmospheric melodrama that also manages to feature most of Cronenberg's statements about the human body. Here, the perfect woman is actually a man that sings, walks, dresses and, why not, also loves like a woman. Irons and Lone deliver some genuine acting with restrained but provocative performances. The final scene, in which Irons' character transforms into Butterfly in a show for his jail pals, doing some make up and then killing himself, is just hauntingly beautiful.

I didn't feel the love, man.

Do you hear me, Butterfly? Miles to go before you sleep.

Despite Cronenberg's economic storytelling, this one drags a bit. Thankfully though, the film's relatively short running time makes it tolerable. Irons' performance is great and Lone's is even better. Cronenberg's themes of subconscience desire and identity confusion are in full force. I can't say I didn't see the twist coming, but that didn't hamper its effectiveness. This isn't top tier Cronenberg, but it's psychologically intriguing enough to fit in nicely with his other work.

Jeremy Irons gives an amazing performance (as per usual), and the film's twist is not only earned, but thematically integral as well.

Nice