The Blue Butterfly

Directed by Léa Pool

Canada / United Kingdom, 2004 (children's / fiction, 93 minutes, colour, English)

Also known as "A Borboleta Azul", "Das Geheimnis des blauen Schmetterlings", "En busca de un sueño", "Kék pillangó", "Le papillon bleu", "Mariposa azul", "Sinine liblikas"

Film Description:
"Ten year-old Pete Carlton is terminally ill with brain cancer. His last wish is to catch the most beautiful butterfly on earth, the Blue Morpho, or Mariposa Azùl, found only in South America. His mother, Teresa, convinces Alan Osborne, a renowned entomologist who prefers insects to people, to take the wheelchair-bound Pete to the rainforest. Deep in the majesty and mystery of the jungle, the two must overcome numerous dangers, hardship and pain. The blue butterfly resists capture and leads Pete and Alan into a life-and-death adventure that transforms their lives. An incredible true story, The Blue Butterfly centres on the lives of a young boy and an older man who both emerge from their protective chrysalis."
-- Telefilm Canada (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Pete McCormack
Produced by:	Francine Allaire, Claude Bonin, Arnie Gelbart, Michael Haggiag
Principal Cast:	William Hurt, Marc Donato, Pascale Bussières
Cinematography:	Pierre Mignot
Film Editing:	Michel Arcand
Music:	Stephen Endelman
Production Company:	Alliance Atlantis, Film Tonic, Galafilm, Global Arts Productions

(sources)

Award won by The Blue Butterfly

Prix Jutra [Jutra Award]: Meilleure direction de la photographie [best cinematography] -- awarded to Pierre Mignot

Quote by the Director [in French]

"J'aime diriger les acteurs. Dans ce film-là [The Blue Butterfly], je devais m'adapter à chacun, de William Hurt, qui possède énormément de métier mais aime répéter beaucoup, à Marinella, une jeune réfugiée du Nicaragua qui ignorait ce qu'était le cinéma, en passant par Pascale Bussières, qui joue à l'instinct."
-- Léa Pool (source)

Quote about The Blue Butterfly [in French]

"Il est toujours décevant de constater qu'une cinéaste comme Léa Pool, qui s'est tant livrée à travers ses premiers films, payant de sa personne chaque scène d'intimité et de tourment, accepte de disparaître derrière un paravent de formules. C'est pourtant l'impression que laisse Le Papillon bleu."
-- Martin Bilodeau (source)

Bibliography for The Blue Butterfly

Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites

Bilodeau, Martin. "Une sorte de rêve surgelé." Review of The Blue Butterfly. Le Devoir, February 21, 2004. [in French]
Eisner, Ken. "The Blue Butterfly." Review of The Blue Butterfly. Variety, March 15, 2004.
Haïm, Monica. "Papillon bleu." Review of The Blue Butterfly. Séquences, January-February 2004. [in French]
Laurendeau, Francine. "Mariposa azul de Léa Pool." Séquences, September-October 2002. [in French]
Tousignant, Isa. "Humanitarius beautificitus: Pascale Bussières shines in Léa Pool's The Blue Butterfly." Interview with Pascale Bussières. Take One (Toronto), March-June 2004.
Tremblay, Odile. "Un rêve à transmettre." Interview with Léa Pool. Le Devoir, February 14, 2004. [in French]
Tremblay, Odile. "Le vol du papillon : Le prochain film de Léa Pool raconte une histoire initiatique." Le Devoir, June 5, 2002. [in French]

Web Sites about The Blue Butterfly

"IMDb: The Blue Butterfly." Internet Movie Database, Inc. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313300/combined.