Swallowtail (film)
8 /10 1 Votes
Duration | 7.8/10 IMDb Genre Crime, Drama Writer Shunji Iwai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Language JapaneseEnglishMandarin Release date September 14, 1996 (1996-09-14) Initial release September 14, 1996 (Japan) Cast (Ageha), (Glico), (Feihong), Yosuke Eguchi (Ryou Ryanki), (Ran), Andy Hui Chi-On (Maofuu)Similar movies Paprika , Jamon Jamon , The Wolf of Wall Street , Pulp Fiction , Now You See Me , Se7en |
Swallowtail butterfly
Swallowtail, also known as Swallowtail Butterfly (スワロウテイル Suwarōteiru), is a 1996 Japanese crime film directed by Shunji Iwai, starring Hiroshi Mikami, pop-singer Chara, and Ayumi Ito.
Contents
![Swallowtail (film) movie scenes](https://alchetron.com/cdn/Swallowtail-film-images-21b7e846-fbab-4cb6-9e50-56d57ecd9e7.jpg)
The film was shot on hand-held cameras using jump cuts and other visual techniques. It covers a wide array of themes and genres, from social realism to coming-of-age to crime.
![Swallowtail (film) movie scenes](https://alchetron.com/cdn/Swallowtail-film-images-d86fdd9b-3fb3-480f-b45a-300c7b380ea.jpg)
A theme song for the film under Yen Town Band, titled "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)", gained first place on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart of October 7, 1996.
![Swallowtail (film) movie scenes](https://alchetron.com/cdn/Swallowtail-film-images-026c74cb-f448-4d3a-a597-daab764f19a.jpg)
Plot
![Swallowtail (film) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaen77cSwa](https://alchetron.com/cdn/swallowtail-film-7fbf4c7a-f070-48df-876a-46123a574ed-resize-750.jpg)
The film is set in Tokyo at an unspecified point in the near future when the Japanese yen has become the strongest currency in the world. This attracts an influx of immigrants, legal and illegal, to work in the city. The immigrants give the city the nickname Yen Town (円都, en to). The Japanese natives, however, despise the nickname, and in retribution call the immigrants by the homophone Yen Thieves (円盗, en tou), anglicised as "Yentowns" in the film's English subtitles.
![Swallowtail (film) Swallowtail JAPAN 1996](https://alchetron.com/cdn/swallowtail-film-fdffe89a-c88f-4e41-86af-3bb7c99eea6-resize-750.jpg)
The story centers around a sixteen-year-old girl (Ito) whose mother has just died. The girl is passed on from person to person until she is taken in by a Chinese Yentown prostitute named Glico (Chara), who names her Ageha (Japanese for swallowtail). Under Glico's care, Ageha starts a new life.
![Swallowtail (film) Midnight Eye review Swallowtail Butterfly Suwarouteiru 1996](https://alchetron.com/cdn/swallowtail-film-ab1a1c5b-69fe-4a6b-8375-f5ef262ac4e-resize-750.jpg)
The immigrant characters, who speak Japanese, English, Mandarin, or Cantonese, earn their living by committing petty crimes and engaging in prostitution. Ageha does not participate in any of these activities, but is protected by Glico and the other immigrants. The film does not make clear whether Ageha is Japanese or an Asian immigrant.
![Swallowtail (film) Swallowtail Butterfly Full Movies YouTube](https://alchetron.com/cdn/swallowtail-film-105d3622-9de5-435f-998b-f7988e2309f-resize-750.jpg)
Eventually, due to a sudden twist of fate, the immigrants are given a chance to realize their various dreams. But in doing so, they destroy their solidarity, and have to face their problems separately.
Cast
![Swallowtail (film) YESASIA Swallowtail Butterfly DVD Hong Kong Version DVD](https://alchetron.com/cdn/swallowtail-film-9f2364a5-6fbc-4048-9eb3-22c14f69859-resize-750.jpg)
Awards
![Swallowtail (film) Midnight Eye review Swallowtail Butterfly Suwarouteiru 1996](https://alchetron.com/cdn/swallowtail-film-dde873bb-2755-40b9-aeec-b4b7293653d-resize-750.jpg)
![Swallowtail (film) Midnight Eye review Swallowtail Butterfly Suwarouteiru 1996](https://alchetron.com/cdn/swallowtail-film-d77d45c4-36c3-45de-843f-059c6c3de89-resize-750.jpg)
Swallowtail Butterfly was also nominated for but did not win the following awards:
References
Swallowtail (film) WikipediaSwallowtail (film) IMDb Swallowtail (film) themoviedb.org