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]

M. Butterfly
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Cronenberg
Screenplay by	David Henry Hwang
Based on	M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
Produced by	Gabriella Martinelli
Starring	Jeremy Irons John Lone Barbara Sukowa Ian Richardson
Cinematography	Peter Suschitzky
Edited by	Ronald Sanders
Music by	Howard Shore
Production company	Geffen Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	October 1, 1993 (1993-10-01)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1,498,795

Plot

Loosely based on true events (see Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu), the film concerns René Gallimard (Jeremy Irons), 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 are traditionally performed by men. At the end of the film Gallimard kills himself (although the man he is based on, Bernard Boursicot, did not do this in real life.)

Cast

• Jeremy Irons as René Gallimard
• John Lone as Song Liling
• Ian Richardson as Ambassador Toulon
• Barbara Sukowa as Jeanne Gallimard
• Annabel Leventon as Frau Baden
• Shizuko Hoshi as Comrade Chin
• Vernon Dobtcheff as Agent Entacelin

Themes

One theme of the film (as with the play) is Orientalist stereotypes, but Cronenberg removed many of the political overtones from the story^{[citation needed]} in order to focus more intensely on the relationship between Gallimard and Song.^{[citation needed]} 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 43%, based on 21 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

• M. Butterfly
• Cross-dressing in film and television

References

External links

• M. Butterfly at IMDb
• M. Butterfly at AllMovie
• M. Butterfly at Box Office Mojo
• M. Butterfly at Rotten Tomatoes
• M. Butterfly at Metacritic

На других языках

[ru] М. Баттерфляй