Lengua de las mariposas, La (1999)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

José Luis Cuerda

Writers:

Rafael Azcona (writer)
José Luis Cuerda (writer)

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A magical tale about growing up in country growing apart.

Plot:

For Moncho, it's an idyllic year: he starts school, he has a wonderful teacher, he makes a friend in Roque...

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Saxophonist | Spain | Spanish Civil War | Student

Awards:

5 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Don Gregorio
Manuel Lozano	...	Moncho
Uxía Blanco	...	Rosa
Gonzalo Uriarte	...	Ramón
Alexis de los Santos	...	Andrés
Jesús Castejón	...	D. Avelino
Guillermo Toledo	...	O'Lis
Elena Fernández	...	Carmina
Tamar Novas	...	Roque
Tatán	...	Roque Padre
Roberto Vidal Bolaño	...	Boal (as Roberto Vidal)
Celso Parada	...	Macias
Celso Bugallo	...	Cura
Antonio Lagares	...	Alcalde (as Tucho Lagares)
Milagros Jiménez	...	Nena

Also Known As:

Butterfly's Tongue (Philippines: English title) (UK)
A Lingua das bolboretas (Spain: Galician title)
Butterfly (DVD title)
Butterfly Tongues (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for a strong sex scene.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Canal+ España

Soundtrack:

La orquesta azul

Sweepingly Beautiful and Poignant

This was a film that really tugged at the heart strings. I really enjoyed the building of characters and the way the lives of the village were portrayed. It was a difficult time politically, yet the simplicity of daily life and family in Galicia was the over-riding story here. The acting is second to none and Manuel Lozano was unbelievably fantastic! I mean these ridiculous "affected" children they get for American movies (i.e. the "Pepsi" girl) are so unbelievable and fake. Manuel is so realistic as Moncho. So are the other actors.

I don't necessarily agree with the way that Cuerda rushed the ending, but I certainly wouldn't want to take away any time in portraying the lives of everyone involved. Maybe he should have made it a little longer as not to rush the ending. Although I will say that one of my favorite things about foreign films is that they are so NOT "Hollywood" that you never really know what to expect. Unlike the trite, unbelievable, over-acted, high budget American films and their overpaid actors which usually just leave a bad taste when I exit from the theatre.

This is an historical piece that absolutely shames "the Patriot". It's so nice to see that a movie doesn't have to change history to show us the past and entertain us at the same time!