The Blue Butterfly

The Blue Butterfly
Film poster
Directed byLéa Pool
Written byPete McCormack
StarringWilliam Hurt
Pascale Bussières
Marc Donato
CinematographyPierre Mignot
Edited byMichel Arcand
Music byStephen Endelman
Production
companies
Galafilm
Global Arts Productions
Palpable Productions
Distributed byFilm Tonic (Canada)
Alliance Atlantis (international)
Release date
  • February 20, 2004 (2004-02-20) (Quebec)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesCanada
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
BudgetC$12 million

The Blue Butterfly (French: Le papillon bleu) is a 2004 drama film directed by Léa Pool. A Quebec–United Kingdom co-production, it stars William Hurt, Pascale Bussières and Marc Donato. Inspired by a true story, the film centres on a terminally ill boy’s search for a rare blue morpho butterfly. It won Best Cinematography at the 2005 Jutra Awards and was screened at the 2004 Mar del Plata International Film Festival.

Synopsis

The film follows a ten-year-old boy with terminal cancer who is fascinated by butterflies. His final wish is to find the rare blue morpho butterfly, which lives in tropical rainforests. After his mother persuades an entomologist to help, the boy sets off for the rainforest in search of the rare butterfly. During the expedition, he confronts his fears and illness.

Cast

The cast includes:

Production

The film was inspired by the story of David Marenger, a Canadian boy with cancer, and Quebec entomologist Georges Brossard. A Quebec–United Kingdom co-production, the film was produced by Galafilm, Global Arts Productions and Palpable Productions. It was filmed in Montreal and Costa Rica on an estimated budget of C$12 million.

Reception

Awards

At the 2004 Giffoni Film Festival, the film was ranked third among feature films in the Free to Fly section and received the Ministry for Arts and Culture Award. The film won Best Cinematography for Pierre Mignot at the 2005 Jutra Awards.

Critical response

Variety wrote that the film lacked "fun, originality and depth". The review found the characters thinly developed and the film visually static, but praised Pierre Mignot's close-up photography of insects and small animals as "superb". Filmdienst described the film as sentimental and wrote that its treatment of the story was too superficial to work fully either as a children's film or as a social-issue drama. Filmpodium quoted Neue Zürcher Zeitung as writing that the film was convincing in its balance between external action and understated suggestion.

Festival screenings

The film was screened in the Official Section of the 2004 Mar del Plata International Film Festival.

References

  1. ↑ "The Blue Butterfly". British Council Film. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Das Geheimnis des blauen Schmetterlings". Filmdienst (in German). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 "The Blue Butterfly". Filmpodium (in German). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Georges Brossard rencontre «le miraculé du papillon bleu»". TVA Nouvelles (in French). 10 February 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Blue Butterfly, The – Film de Léa Pool". Films du Québec (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Winners and Prizes GFF 2004". Giffoni Film Festival. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Blue Butterfly". Cinémathèque québécoise. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Blue Butterfly". Variety. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "19º Edición (2004)". Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2026.