monsieur butterfly



poster from their page

Another "sensation" of semi-Latvian cinema, so, of course - I had to see it. in fact I cannot even call it semi-Latvian, because the cast and crew is pretty much a mix, real eurostyle. but the main character is Latvian and (logically enough) played by a Latvian actor, and this means only one thing - the still waters of Latvian cinema have been stirred a little. I, however, was far from stirred. Apart from Gundars Abolins' spectacular performance (a bit biased here - I love him, he is without a doubt one of the greatest actors in the little country of ours), there were not many things about this cinematic creation that I found enjoyable. the paradox is that G.Abolins was so believable and masterful in the role of this slimy, pathetic and greedy little man, that I became repulsed and annoyed by the protagonist almost instantly. but a movie still can be saved even if I don't particularly like the main character or relate a whole lot to the story. sadly, there must be more to a film than just one great performance and a couple of mildly amusing jokes. I suspect that the story was intended as a light hearted, ironic and fluttering comedy of adventure (hence the surname of the protagonist - Taurins - Latvian for butterfly). but at least with me this intetion did not fulfill its purpose. oh, well, better luck next time, I'm sure many people liked it anyway. still on in cinemas.