Main Cast: Jeremy Irons, John Lone, Ian Richardson, Annabel Leventon, Shizuko Hoshi
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
David Cronenberg's cinematic intensity eviscerates this adaptation of David Henry Hwang's passionate stage production. Based on a true incident involving a French diplomat who carried on an affair for 18 years with a man the diplomat thought was a woman, M. Butterfly begins in 1964 Beijing when French foreign service employee Rene Gallimard (Jeremy Irons) becomes smitten with Chinese opera performer Song Liling (John Lone). Before long, Gallimard is enamored with Song, and they begin an inflamed affair -- bracketed by the stipulation that Gallimard will never be allowed to look upon her in a state of complete undress. Gallimard agrees to the rules, but, as he climbs up the diplomatic ladder, the communist government gets involved, corralling Song to become an informer for the government. When, at last, Gallimard's passion demands nudity, Song flees the relationship. Gallimard, pining for his lost love, then becomes a physical and mental wreck. He leaves China and accepts a two-bit diplomatic position, but then Song appears once again to Gallimard. At that point, Gallimard is arrested and, during the subsequent sensational trial for treason, his affair is exposed for the sham that it is. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Richard McMillan - Embassy Colleague; Vernon Dobtcheff - Agent Etancelin; Damir Andrei - 2nd Intelligence Officer; Deirdre Bowen; David Hemblen - 1st Intelligence Officer; Sean Hewitt - Ambassador's Aide; Tristram Jellinek - Defense attorney; Antony Parr - 3rd Intelligence Officer; Barbara Sukowa - Jeanne Gallimard; Barbara Chilcott - Critic at Garden Party; Philip McGough - Prosecution attorney; Peter Messaline - Diplomat at party; David Neal - Judge; Viktor Fulop - Marshal
Credit
Alicia Keywan - Art Director, James McAteer - Art Director, Deirdre Bowen - Casting, Denise Cronenberg - Costume Designer, John Board - First Assistant Director, David Cronenberg - Director, Ronald Sanders - Editor, David Henry Hwang - Executive Producer, Howard Shore - Composer (Music Score), Suzanne Benoit - Makeup, Carol Spier - Production Designer, Marilyn Stonehouse - Production Designer, Peter Suschitzky - Cinematographer, Gabriella Martinelli - Producer, Elinor Rose Galbraith - Set Designer, Bryan Day - Sound/Sound Designer, David Henry Hwang - Screenwriter, David Henry Hwang - Play Author
Loosely based on true events (see Bernard Boursicot), the movie concerns René Gallimard, a French diplomat (Irons) assigned to Beijing, China in the 1960s. He becomes infatuated with a Chinese opera performer, Song (Lone), who spies on him for government information under orders from the Chinese government. Their affair lasts for twenty years, with Gallimard all the while apparently unaware (or willfully ignorant) of the fact that in traditional Chinese opera, all roles are performed by men. Eventually, Gallimard betrays his country and is tried for treason, which forces him to face the truth about his relationship. Faced with the unbearable truth that his lover is actually male, he himself takes on the role of Butterfly, the woman who died for the sake of an illusory love.
Themes
One theme of the film (as with the play) is Orientalist stereotypes, but Cronenberg removed many of the political overtones from the story in order to focus more intensely on the relationship between Gallimard and Song. A key line in the film is "Only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act."
