Swallowtail Butterfly (film)

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Swallowtail Butterfly
Directed by Shunji Iwai
Produced by Shinya Kawai
Written by Shunji Iwai
Starring Hiroshi Mikami,
Chara,
Ayumi Ito
Yosuke Eguchi
Andy Hui
Atsuro Watabe
Music by Takeshi Kobayashi
Cinematography Noboru Shinoda
Release date(s) 1996
Running time 148 min.
467 min. (Unreleased uncut edition)
Language Japanese, English, Mandarin
IMDb profile

Swallowtail (スワロウテイル Suwarōteiru), also known as Swallowtail Butterfly or Yentown, is a 1996 movie by Japanese film director Shunji Iwai, starring Hiroshi Mikami, Chara and Ayumi Ito.

The film covers a wide array of themes and genres, from social-realism, to coming-of-age to crime. It has been both applauded and criticized by viewers.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot summary

"Once upon a time, when the yen was the most powerful force in the world, the city overflowed with immigrants, like a gold rush boom town. They came in search of yen, snatching up yen. And the immigrants called the city Yentown. But the Japanese hated that name. So they referred to those yen thieves as Yentowns. It's a bit puzzling, but "Yentown" meant both the city and the outcasts. If they worked hard, earned a pocketful of yen, and returned home, they were rich men. It sounds like a fairy tale, but it was a paradise of yen, "Yentown". And this is the story of Yentowns in Yentown."

Swallowtail Butterfly takes place in an alternate Japan, in a ghetto where immigrants from all over the world have come to live and make their fortune. The city is called Yentown, and it is much like Tokyo. Sixteen-year-old Ageha (Ito), a young girl whose mother has just died, is passed on from person to person until a prostitute named Glico (Chara) finally takes pity on her.

Under Glico's care, Ageha has many experiences with the other poverty-stricken immigrants in Yentown. Eventually, due to a sudden twist in fate, the immigrants are given a chance to realize their dreams. But in doing so, they destroy their solidarity, and have to face their problems separately.

[edit] Awards

Swallowtail Butterfly was also nominated for but did not win the following awards:

[edit] Trivia

  • Swallowtail Butterfly was shot entirely on hand-held cameras.
  • Chara, who portrays Glico, is also a singer in real life.
  • The name "Ageha" is the Japanese word for "swallowtail butterfly".

[edit] Box office gross

Japan: ¥2, 928, 000, 000

[edit] External links