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La Chasse aux papillons
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Wikipedia article
'La Chasse aux papillons' is a 1992 French drama film written and directed by Otar Iosseliani.
Plot
Two older women, Marie-Agns de Bayonette (Thamara Tarassachvili) and her cousin Solange (Narda Blanchet) live in a villa nestled in the hills over a nearby village. Surrounded by the wealth, memories, and treasures collected over their lifetimes, they purposely ignore real estate development interests from the nearby town, specially those led by repeated efforts of the local magistrate who urges them to sell their home to a Japanese investment group. They survive financially by the occasional sale of a piece of antique furniture. When Marie-Agns dies unexpectedly, Solange has to deal with an heir from Moscow and renewed efforts that the estate be sold.
Cast
In casting his films, Otar Iosseliani admitted to preferring unknowns, feeling that a famous name could be equated to hiring a whore. In wishing to have viewer's feel like they were watching not actors but people, his casts were recruited mainly from his personal address book.
* Narda Blanchet as Solange
* Pierrette Pompom Bailhache as Valrie
* Aleksandr Cherkasov as Henri de Lampadere
* Thamara Tarassachvili as Marie-Agns de Bayonette
* Alexandra Liebermann as Hlne
* Lilia Ollivier as Olga
* Emmanuel de Chauvigny as Father Andr
* Sacha Piatigorsky as Sultan
* Anne-Marie Eisenschitz as Marie
* Franoise Tsouladz as Yvonne
* Maimouna N'Diaye as Caprice
* Yannick Carpentier as Monsieur Capentier
Release
The film had multiple international releases 1992 through 1995, and screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in 2003. Its original French release title is 'La Chasse aux papillons', but it also screened as 'A Caa s Borboletas' in Portugal, as 'Caccia alle farfalle' in Italy, 'Jagd auf Schmetterlinge' in Germany, as 'Kelebek avi' in Turkey, as 'Lepkevadszat' in Hungary, as 'Peplebze nadiroba' (' ') in Georgia, as ' ' in Russia, as 'Polowanie na motyle' in Poland, and as 'To kynigi tis petaloudas' in Greece. In English it was released as 'The Butterfly Hunt', 'Hunting Butterflies', and 'Chasing Butterflies'.
Recognition
Critical response
The film was shown in 1993 Moscow International Film Festival as a part of the program which demonstrated award-winning 1992 films. In the reaction, it was noted that the film is typical for Otar Iosseliani in the sense that it gives the notion of the rytmus. The best scenes of the film are those where no dramatic action occurs. It was also noted that France as shown by Iosseliani is very much like Georgia as shown by him in previous films.Awards and nominations
* 1992, won a Confdration Internationale des Cinemas d'Art et d 'Essai (C.I.C.A.E.) Award at 49th Venice Film Festival* 1992, won Pasinetti Award for 'Best Film' at Venice Film Festival
* 1993, received a European Film Award nomination for 'Best Achievement' from European Film Academy
* 1993, won Andrei Tarkovsky Award at Moscow International Film Festival
* 1993, received a Nika Award nomination for 'Best Film' from Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences.
References
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