Story of movie Papillon 2017 Film : Papillon is a 2017 biographical drama film directed by Michael Noer. It tells the story of French convict Henri Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), nicknamed Papillon ("butterfly"), who was imprisoned in 1933 in the notorious Devil's Island penal colony and escaped in 1941 with the help of another convict, counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek). The film's screenplay is based on Charrière's autobiographies Papillon and Banco, as well as the former's 1973 film adaptation, which was written by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr. and starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
| Papillon | |
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| Directed by | Michael Noer |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Aaron Guzikowski |
| Based on | Papillon and Banco by Henri Charrière |
| Starring |
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| Music by | David Buckley |
| Cinematography | Hagen Bogdanski |
| Edited by |
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Production company |
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| Distributed by | Bleecker Street |
Release date |
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Running time | 133 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | $4.5 million |
Papillon premiered on September 9, 2017, in the Special Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
Screenplay
Henri "Papillon" Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is framed for murder. Though he has an alibi from his lover, Nenette, Papillon is convicted and condemned to the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island in French Guiana — a hellish prison from which nobody has escaped.
On the boat to South America, Papillon meets a quirky counterfeiter named Louis Dega. That evening Dega is awakened as two convicts murder a prisoner sleeping next to him in order to cut open his stomach and steal the money he had swallowed. Papillon forms an unlikely alliance with Dega, who is targeted by the other prisoners who suspect him of also hiding money. Papillon saves Louis' life and is punished for fighting by the guards. In exchange for Papillon's protection, Louis agrees to finance Papillon's escape, ultimately resulting in a bond of lasting friendship.
While Papillon and Dega are tasked to carry away a guillotined body, a guard starts to whip Dega. Papillon strikes the guard with a rock and runs into the jungle for his first escape. He is given two years of silent solitary confinement. After the warden learns he has been receiving extra food, his rations are cut in half. Papillon does not betray Dega.
The second escape plan is made from the prison infirmary. Papillon is feigning insanity from his confinement. Dega is an aide to the warden and still has money to fund the escape. Celier has a connection to get a boat. The sexually abused Maturette is the fourth to join the dangerous venture. Dega gets the guards drunk and the four escape over the walls to a boat. As a storm approaches, it is clear they will not all survive in the small leaky boat. Celier wants to kill the injured Dega but in the battle it is Celier who dies. Next the three survivors find themselves being cared for in a Columbian convent. Their apparent freedom is short lived because the Mother Superior turns them in. Papillon gets five years in solitary confinement.
Papillon is released as a weathered older man on Devil's Island with high cliffs. He finds Dega who has adjusted to prison life and he has no interest in escape. A fall from the cliffs is certain death. Papillon bags coconuts together for a raft and in a swell of waves he survives the fall. The third escape is a success and he is a free man. He writes a memoir. The movie postscript tells of the books release with the French government inviting him back to France.
- Charlie Hunnam as Henri "Papillon" Charrière
- Rami Malek as Louis Dega
- Yorick van Wageningen as Warden Barrot
- Roland Møller as Celier
- Tommy Flanagan as Masked Breton
- Eve Hewson as Nenette
- Michael Socha as Julot
- Brian Vernel as Guittou
- Ian Beattie as Toussaint
- Nicholas Asbury as Commandant
- Nikola Kent as Deputy Warden Brioulet
- Slavko Sobin as El Caiman
- Joel Basman as Marturette
- Petar Cirica as Abda
- Veronica Quilligan as Mother Superior
- Demetri Goritsas as Jean-Pierre Castelnau
- Poppy Mahendra as Zoraima
Papillon was shot in different locations around Europe including Montenegro, Malta, and significantly, in Belgrade, Serbia. The movie postscript reads: "Over 80,000 prisoners were condemned to the penal colony in French Guiana, most of whom never returned to France. Henri Charriere's autobiography "Papillon" became the number one bestseller for 21 weeks in France, To date, it has sold over 13 million copies in 30 languages. In 1970, the French Minister of Justice signed a decree allowing Charriere to return to France. For the remainder of his life, he lived a free man. The penal colony in French Guiana did not survive him."
Papillon released in the United States by Bleecker Street on August 24, 2018.
Box office
As of August 26, 2018, Papillon has grossed $1,585,045 in the United States and Canada, and $2,180,684 in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $3,765,729.
The film debuted to $1.2 million from 544 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing 16th.
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 53% based on 87 reviews, and an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Papillon puts its own well-acted, solidly produced spin on a previously adapted tale, although it may not be quite enough to erase viewers' memories of the 1973 version." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Sarah Melton from Exclaim! gave the film a mixed review, saying, "It's by no means a bad story, but it's unsatisfyingly safe in a way that such a brutal tale probably shouldn't be."
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