The Last Butterfly

Director: Karel Kachyna Karel Kachyna

Overview

"Karel Kachyna and Ota Hofman adapted Michael Jacot's novel for this drama of a mime artist in Nazi-occupied Paris who is forced to put on a show for Red Cross observers in the Nazis' model ""city of the Jews,"" Terezin, Czechoslovakia."

Product Details

Release Date:	01/11/2005
UPC:	0016351030696
Original Release:	1991
Source:	Shanachie
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	47,673

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tom Courtenay	Antoine Moreau
Brigitte Fossey	Vera
Freddie Jones	Karl Rheinberg
Ingrid Held	Michelle
Linda Jablonska	Stella
Josef Kemr	Stadler
Milan Knazko	Gruber
Lubek Kopriva	Laub,Laub
Pavel Bobek	Silberstein
Josef Laufer	Petersen
Drahomira Fialkova	Stadlerova
Rudolf Pellar	Leroux
Jiri Lir	Steiner
Hana Hegerova	Singer In The Ghetto Cafe
Jitka Molavcova	Gruber's Secretary
Daniel Margolius	Samuel
Kamila Hodouskova	Heda
Halberstatova	Ester
Marketa Slavikova	Liana
Jiri Malek	Otto
Petr Lowy	Ikarus
Alex North	Composer

Technical Credits

Karel Kachyna

Ota Hofman

Karel Kachyna	Director,Screenwriter
Boudjemaa Dahmane	Executive Producer
Patrick Dromgoole	Executive Producer
Jacques Methe	Executive Producer
Steven North	Producer
Ota Hofman	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Films that deal with the Holocaust, such as The Last Butterfly, have a special burden placed upon them. How is one to present unspeakable evil and brutality when dealing with a situation which did in fact exist? Going "for the drama" creates an artificial excitement that, while it may be essential to good moviemaking, can trivialize the very real horrors of the Nazi purge. Yet being too careful, too respectful can create a work that is unintentionally hollow, that doesn't create the visceral response in the audience that is necessary to get across the dreadful impact of the Holocaust. Butterfly opts for something closer to this latter approach, and while the result has more emotional impact than might be expected, it is still one that perhaps produces more a feeling of despair and depression than one of outrage. That, of course, is a legitimate reaction to the Nazis' attempted cleansing and shouldn't be discounted; but it will cause some viewers to choose to abandon Butterfly before it is over. For those who stick with it, the accumulated detail and emotional build will be significant. Looked at from a strictly dramatic point of view, the plot and character development is quite good, and there are a number of powerful scenes. And in the central role, Tom Courtenay provides a nuanced, controlled yet impactful performance that lingers in the memory long after the final frame.