Pjtaylor-96-138044 Review of Butterfly

Butterfly (1999)

Values atmosphere over plot but is usually pleasant, well-written stuff.

[6/10 · 23 October 2018]

'Butterfly's Tongue (1999)' certainly values atmosphere over plot but that's not necessarily a bad thing, as we follow a young child through his every day exploits and tend to feel the way he feels (except that we view each moment through an adult lens) during the varied, almost anthology-esque events which are indicative of how a kid sees the world - as loosely connected but in-the-moment experiences that each subconsciously add up to form their eventual world view. Most of the film is pleasant, well-written stuff that excels at feeling naturalistic and is also loosely nostalgic, even if some subplots - and even individual sequences - seem like total non sequitur and a couple of scenes are strangely inappropriate for what seems to be the perfect target-audience (strangely graphic sex scene, included). It seems as though it all builds up to a message that only really forms itself - at least, in the foreground - in the film's final moments, though. While this ending is emotionally resonant and actually quite poignant, it feels somewhat rushed and causes the rest of the flick to seem retroactively unfocused, especially if this was always supposed to be the thematic outcome. 6/10