An acrylic painting on wood panel, titled 'Swallowtail Butterfly', of a woman with a butterfly tattoo on her chest, walking away from a pantless woman sitting in a chair with a lit roman candle. A factory is painted in the bottom right background.

Swallowtail Butterfly

(1996, Shunji Iwai)

I had so many conflicting thoughts about the film but enjoyed it nonetheless. I’m not really sure what the director was going for but it definitely echoed a bit of my personal life as a foreigner in China. Multiple languages are thrown around so aimlessly and the movie itself seems to forget where the main plot is. This is a Japanese movie that feels so much like China haha. I've met a lot of people recently who say this is one of their favorite films.


A screenshot from the film 'Swallowtail Butterfly' of a young girl with her head down as another woman in a red dress stares her down. An animated gif of a scene from the film 'Swallowtail Butterfly' of a young girl practicing how to fight with a boxer next to a metal structure. A close-up screenshot of a young woman Ageha (played by Ayumi Ito). From the film 'Swallowtail Butterfly'.

© 1996 - Kadokawa Herald