Le Papillon

When you're tired and cranky and in a foul mood it's good to sit down and relax and watch a film like Le Papillon (The Butterfly). Films such as these, no matter how simple they may be, make you feel that, contrary to what you think, life is truly worth living.

An irritable, aging lepedeptorist (butterfly collector, that is) meets a precocious, inquisitive little girl and their lives are not the same again (Oh, I hate lines like that but it's true). Julien (Michel Serrault) is an avid butterfly collector who embarks on a yearly journey to catch the elusive Isabela butterfly that lives only for three days and three nights. Little does he know that her neighbor's daughter, Elsa (Claire Bouanich) hides inside his car to be with him.

Julien is torn between sending back the girl to her mom (Nade Dieu) (who has been amiss with her motherly duties to Elsa) and tagging her along in his three-day search for the butterfly. But Elsa is so clever that she is able to devise a plan to be with Julien. What happens along the way is an amusing story of how two people, so different from one another can help find each other escpecially if they themselves are looking for something in common.


Julien's past life is revealed and so is Elsa's present predicament. Then an accident prompts mother and Julien to face up things that for so long have frightened them. Sometimes, we keep looking for things from far away places only to find them eagerly waiting for us.

Truly a magical, magnificent metamorphic movie!

Quotable quotes:
On love that hangs by the thread, "If it's true love, it does not ask for proofs. Asking for proofs means there is no trust. If there is no trust, then there is no love." - Julien

"Why do we say we 'fell in love' and not 'rise in love'? My mother fell in love and got pregnant
at the same time." - Elsa

Director: Philippe Muyl
Cast: Michel Serrault, Claire Bouanich, Nade Dieu
Country: France
Released: 2004