Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
49
2012
41
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
84
Avatar![]()
69
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
53
Blind Side
53
Book of Eli, The
55
Christmas Carol, A
57
Daybreakers
43
Dear John
27
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
55
Edge of Darkness
45
Extraordinary Measures
83
Fantastic Mr. Fox![]()
42
From Paris with Love
65
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The
74
Invictus
57
It's Complicated
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Leap Year
33
Legion
42
Lovely Bones, The
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
34
Ninja Assassin
19
Old Dogs
xx
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
39
Planet 51
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Princess & the Frog, The
64
Road, The
57
Sherlock Holmes
27
Spy Next Door, The
36
Tooth Fairy
44
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
83
Up in the Air![]()
43
Valentine's Day
25
When in Rome
71
Where the Wild Things Are
xx
WolfMan, The
63
Youth in Revolt
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
46
44 Inch Chest
83
Ajami![]()
73
Amreeka
xx
Barefoot to Timbuktu
19
Bitch Slap
24
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
76
Broken Embraces
64
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
84
Cove, The![]()
84
Crazy Heart![]()
21
Crazy on the Outside
48
Creation
xx
Daddy Long Legs
81
Damned United, The![]()
68
Departures
62
District 13: Ultimatum
85
Education, An![]()
71
Eyes Wide Open
24
Falling Awake
81
Fish Tank![]()
56
For My Father
xx
From Mexico with Love
43
Frozen
68
Girl on the Train, The
52
Killing Kasztner
74
Last Station, The
43
Little Traitor, The
51
Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, The
73
Me and Orson Welles
76
Messenger, The
57
Missing Person, The
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
xx
My Name is Khan
49
Nine
63
North Face
59
October Country
67
Off and Running
52
Paranoids, The
49
Pop Star on Ice
49
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The
xx
Promised Lands (Re-release)
69
Red Riding Trilogy, The
29
Saint John of Las Vegas
69
September Issue, The
36
Serious Moonlight
63
Shinjuku Incident, The
77
Single Man, A
xx
Still Bill
76
Terribly Happy
74
That Evening Sun
19
To Save a Life
68
Town Called Panic, A
59
Until the Light Takes Us
57
Videocracy
65
Waiting for Armageddon
82
White Ribbon![]()
43
Women in Trouble
xx
Word is Out
64
Young Victoria, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Butterfly, The

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama | Foreign
Written by: Philippe Muyl
Directed by: Philippe Muyl
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 19, 2003
DVD: October 19, 2004
Running Time: 85 minutes, Color
Origin: France
Language(s): French (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Michel Serrault, Claire Bouanich, Nade Dieu, Françoise Michaud, Hélène Hily, Pierre Poirot, Jacky Nercessian, and Jacques Bouanich
Eight-year-old Elsa (Bouanich) and her mom Isabelle (Dieu) move in next to Julien (Serrault), an ornery old entomologist with a lavish butterfly collection in his apartment. Her mother is hardly ever home, and Elsa soon grows attached to her neighbor. (First Run Features)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck
Perfect holiday entertainment, albeit for those small fry who can read English subtitles.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
An exceptionally satisfying film of much grace and beauty.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
Sentimental and predictable? Sure, but The Butterfly is so well-meaning and the wide-eyed Bouanich is so sweet and lovable only a Scrooge would dare complain.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego
The film has a sweetness that stops short of sentimentality.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Its scrupulous, even-toned gentleness makes " The Butterfly suitable for children, while its clear-eyed intelligence and refusal to condescend should make it appealing to adults.
Read Full Review >Variety Lisa Nesselson
A solidly entertaining, cross-generational two-hander, The Butterfly strikes the right balance between humor and observational bite.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Marta Barber
Adults expecting intellectual stimulation better skip this one. Not that the Philippe Muyl film is devoid of charm; it oozes it. The story is as predictable as a hot summer in South Florida.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert
If there's anyone to credit for The Butterfly's eventual triumph over the inherent fatuousness of the material, it's the great Serrault and his tiny leading lady, who matches her elder nearly line for line and look for look.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Cutesy and slight, but it's also polished and well-lit, and Muyl makes a weeklong hike roll by pleasantly, reducing it to about 80 minutes of screen time.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Angel Cohn
The film's heart is the relationship between Elsa and Julien, and stars Bouanich and Serrault have a lovely onscreen rapport that's truly endearing.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
It's all very sweet and occasionally touching. More lasting shots of more beautiful butterflies would have added a lot, though.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
mary gave it a6:
The story has been told too many times already and told better by directors of Kolya and Central Station. Butterfly Tongue also was far more captivating.
Andy G. gave it a6:
Well acted, pretty cinematography, but clichéd story and too cute to be taken seriously.
