Cynthia and a Japanese student, Itami, have fallen in love in Japanese controlled Manchukuo prior to the war when Itami is forced to return to Japan. Years later, in Shanghai, Szeto and Tang Yi Ling have fallen in love. Cynthia has also returned to Shanghai now as a member of Purple Butterfly, a powerful resistance group against the Japanese occupation, led by Xie Ming. After a case of mistaken identity and a shootout at a railroad station that leaves Yi Ling dead, Szeto finds himself an unexpected pawn in the battle between former lovers Cynthia and Itami who has also come to Shanghai, now as a member of the Japanese secret police unit tasked with dismantling Purple Butterfly. (Source: Wikipedia) Edit Translation
- English
- magyar / magyar nyelv
- dansk
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Cast & Credits
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![Zhang Zi Yi in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)]( "Zhang Zi Yi in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)")
Zhang Zi Yi Main Role -
![Nakamura Toru in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)]( "Nakamura Toru in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)")
Nakamura Toru Main Role -
![Liu Ye in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)]( "Liu Ye in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)")
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![Gao Hao in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)]( "Gao Hao in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)")
Gao Hao[Lad at the laundry shop]Support Role -
![Feng Yuan Zheng in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)]( "Feng Yuan Zheng in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)")
Feng Yuan ZhengXie MingSupport Role -
![Lan Yan in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)]( "Lan Yan in Purple Butterfly Chinese Movie (2003)")
Lan YanAh ZiSupport Role
Reviews
This review may contain spoilers
Cynthia and Itami are young lovers in the pre-Sino Japanese war time in Shanghai. Itami is called home to Japan for military service, leaving Cynthia behind in her homeland. After Cynthia's brother is killed by a pro-Japanese protestor she joins the Purple Butterfly resistance movement. As time passes she is again reunited with Itami, but this time they are on opposite sides. She is assigned to help kill his boss. He is hunting down the Purple Butterfly members.This movie utilizes tight shots often through blue lenses. More often than not the scenes are smoky or rainy, shot with a shaky hand. There is a scarcity of dialogue. The scenes will either feel intimate or claustrophobic, and sometimes they can feel both. Purple Butterfly can be maddeningly hard to follow at times as the story bounces back and forth in time and between characters, but buried under the pretty wrapping are solid performances by Zhang Ziyi, Nakamura Toru, and Feng Yuan Zheng. The sadness and inevitability of the war to come lingers over the story like the smoke and rain enveloping each scene.
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