Purple Butterfly (Zi hudie) (2003)
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45% of critics liked it
(20 reviews) -
41% of users liked it
(1,337 ratings)
Directed by Lou Ye, Zi Hudie revolves around the underground faction of anti-Nipponese fighters in 1930s Shanghai, just prior to the onset of the Sino-Japanese war. It's only the beginning when Cynthia (Zhang Ziyi), a young Chinese woman, learns the news of her lover Itami's (Toru Nakamura)… More Directed by Lou Ye, Zi Hudie revolves around the underground faction of anti-Nipponese fighters in 1930s Shanghai, just prior to the onset of the Sino-Japanese war. It's only the beginning when Cynthia (Zhang Ziyi), a young Chinese woman, learns the news of her lover Itami's (Toru Nakamura) rapidly approaching return to the military. In a second and even more devastating blow, Cynthia's brother, a contributor to an anti-Japanese newspaper, is killed by a Japanese activist. Three years later, switchboard operator Tang Yiling (Li Bingbing) and Situ (Liu Ye), her fiancé, are introduced to Cynthia after inadvertently heading into a protest held by a resistance group code-named Purple Butterfly, of which Cynthia (who has since changed her name to Ding Hui) has become a part. Ultimately, a botched assassination attempt leaves Situ with a mysterious briefcase; now a suspect himself, Situ is arrested by none other than Itami, who, after reuniting with his old flame, has no idea of her role in a complicit plan to have his boss (Kin Ei) assassinated. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ye Lou
- Written By
- Ye Lou
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Nov 26, 2004 Wide
- Studio
- Palm Pictures
Critic Reviews
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G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
At the center of it all is, of course, Zhang. Charismatic and intense, she excels in her most grown-up role to date.
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Ty Burr, Boston Globe
There are two movies battling for supremacy in Butterfly, and both lose. As does the audience.
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Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
As atmospheric and moody as a film noir, the stylish, sometimes perplexing Purple Butterfly is a remarkable period piece, evoking the bustling, dense and increasingly dangerous Shanghai of the '30s.
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John Hartl, Seattle Times
The characters are less compelling than this particular slice of history, which has rarely been dramatized in movies.
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A.O. Scott, New York Times
Mr. Lou synthesizes a wide range of styles and influences -- from Casablanca to Wong Kar-wai -- resulting in a movie that, for all its haunting strangeness, seems curiously familiar.
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Cast
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Ziyi Zhang
as Cynthia, Ding Hui
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Ye Liu
as Situ (Szeto)
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Yuanzheng Feng
as Xie Ming
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Tôru Nakamura
as Hidehiko Itami
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Bingbing Li
as Tang Yiling
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Kin Ei
as Yamamoto
