Purple Butterfly (2003)

Original title

紫蝴蝶

Directed by

Lou Ye

Genre

neo-noir

Country

People's Republic of China

Runtime

2h 07m

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 22 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Set in 1930s Shanghai, a woman becomes entangled with a resistance group and a Japanese secret agent. Her past and present loyalties collide during the turmoil of war.

melancholictenseslow-burnbleakatmospherichistoricalrestrainedbrooding

What happens

Purple Butterfly (Chinese: 紫蝴蝶; pinyin: Zǐ Húdié) is a 2003 Chinese historical drama film directed by Lou Ye. It is Lou's third film after Weekend Lover and Suzhou River. It stars Chinese actors, Zhang Ziyi, Liu Ye and Li Bingbing, as well as Japanese actor Tōru Nakamura. The film premiered on May 23, 2003, at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, and was given a limited release in New York City the following year on November 26, 2004. The film was only released in one theater in the United States (in New York City) for three weeks, where it grossed $17,790. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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