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      Purple Butterfly

      R Released Nov 26, 2004 2h 7m Drama List
      43% 21 Reviews Tomatometer 45% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score In 1930s Shanghai, a man (Ye Liu) gets involved in a Japanese agent's plot to trap Chinese resistance fighters (Zhang Ziyi, Feng Yuanzheng). Read More Read Less
      Purple Butterfly

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      Critics Consensus

      Ye Lou's Purple Butterfly is atmospheric and moody, but the story is frustratingly muddled.

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      Critics Reviews

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      G. Allen Johnson San Francisco Chronicle At the center of it all is, of course, Zhang. Charismatic and intense, she excels in her most grown-up role to date. Rated: 4/4 Feb 25, 2005 Full Review Ty Burr Boston Globe There are two movies battling for supremacy in Butterfly, and both lose. As does the audience. Rated: 1.5/4 Jan 21, 2005 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times As atmospheric and moody as a film noir, the stylish, sometimes perplexing Purple Butterfly is a remarkable period piece, evoking the bustling, dense and increasingly dangerous Shanghai of the '30s. Rated: 4/5 Jan 13, 2005 Full Review Luke Y. Thompson New Times The plot may be a little hard to follow, but the film-making is skillful and any effort on the viewer's part is well worth it May 28, 2005 Full Review Phil Villarreal Arizona Daily Star Just like nuclear energy, long cinematic pauses can be used properly for the benefit of all, while in the wrong hands they can cause mass misery. Rated: 1.5/4 Feb 2, 2005 Full Review Brent Simon Now Playing Magazine An at times pretty but nonetheless forgettable film. Rated: C Jan 20, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Only one reason to see this......Ziyi Zhang. And the imteresting thing is that her facal expressions and manner are exactly the same as in her classic next film THE ROAD HOME. Obviously she was spotted by a director in this her first film, and he wasn't watching this rather gloomy colourless film but instead saw that this girl would light up the screen in a beautifully told love story. So watch THE ROAD HOME instead! Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Visuellement excellent, mais l'histoire est un peu mince. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member What a great premise: in 1931 Shanghai, Zhang Ziyi is ordered to assassinate a Japanese official -- who happens to be her long-lost beau. And what a terrible movie! Scene after scene of minutes-long closeups of characters walking, standing, sitting -- but rarely actually *doing* or *saying* anything. I'm sorry, but lingering on a couple wordlessly dancing to a record for five minutes does not qualify as character development. Nor does following a woman walking along a railroad platform. . .and walking. . .even if the camera eventually switches to follow a different character walking on the other side. . .and walking. . .and. . .zzzzzzzzzz. And the big "reveal" at the end takes 10 minutes to present 10 seconds' worth of information. If I'd had any remaining interest in the paper-doll characters at that point, the comically glacial pace might have bothered me. Don't get me wrong, I like an "operatic" epic as much as anybody, but this is Mystery Science Theater territory. It makes 2001 look like a Michael Bay popcorn flick. What little action there is doesn't help matters, either. It's barely coherent, with characters we mostly don't know shooting at each other in dark, murky locations. This concept deserved a good movie, not a sleep aid. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member a visual feast, that i give it. but a royal, sumptuous bore. bet my last penny 80% of the critics who raved about this were gwailos. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member A beautiful looking film. It certainly lived up to its "atmospheric" tag. However, it was also frustratingly slow. It was a torture sitting through it. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member I really don't understand why Suzhou River is so highly acclaimed, but this isn't. This is at least as good as it. I admit that editing - trying to be stylish by putting events chronologically out of order - is kinda messed up, but still, images and performances are very powerful and engaging. The biggest problem of the films is that the director gets little bit too showy - especially the last sequence (not the archival footage of Japanese army invading China, right before that). Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Purple Butterfly

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis In 1930s Shanghai, a man (Ye Liu) gets involved in a Japanese agent's plot to trap Chinese resistance fighters (Zhang Ziyi, Feng Yuanzheng).
      Director
      Ye Lou
      Producer
      Jean-Louis Piel, Vincent Maraval, Alain de la Mata
      Screenwriter
      Ye Lou
      Distributor
      Palm Pictures
      Rating
      R (Scene of Sexuality|Strong Violence)
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Chinese
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Nov 26, 2004, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Feb 15, 2005
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $16.1K
      Runtime
      2h 7m