The Butterfly Murders
Reviewed by YTSL
"Peking Opera Blues". "Shanghai Blues".
The "Once Upon a Time in China"s (at least from I to III). "Green Snake".
"The Lovers". "The Chinese Feast". "The Blade". They are
all visually stunning but also thought provoking and emotionally impacting
films. To have directed one of them would be an achievement but to
have directed ALL of them PLUS have been the producer of (other) inspired
works like "A Better Tomorrow", "The Killer", the "A Chinese Ghost Story"
trilogy, the "Swordsman" trilogy, "Dragon Inn", "Iron Monkey" and "Burning
Paradise"?! Only one man could have done this, and in fact did do it:
Tsui Hark is his name (and invention, since he actually was born as Tsui
Man-Kong but changed it in adulthood).
Going into my first viewing of his debut directorial
effort, I wondered what clues and strands -- and how much -- of Mr. Tsui's
later offerings I would be able to detect in THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS.
This (re)viewer also was just plain interested to see what kind of surprises
and delights this almost mythical -- not least on account of home video copies
of it not being all that easy to find -- 1979 movie would have in store.
Additionally, there was the issue of trying to figure out what kind of work
it actually is, since I had previously read of it being a science fiction,
historical martial arts, horror as well as mystery film. As it turns
out, and as one might have expected of a master of more than one genre (and
one who excels at mixing them to boot), this innovative -- and challenging
-- offering really does comprise elements which one would not normally expect
together in a single filmic production.
For the first fifteen minutes or so of THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS, I felt more
lost than I have for a while now post entering the world of Hong Kong movies.
This is not least because of there being so much to have to quickly take
in as one gets plunged straight into a foreign land and faraway time, and
is shown in close succession particular events which occurred in different
years, both before and after the dawn of "the New Era" of Federalist China
as well as introduced to more than one major and minor character (who include
Tien Fong (the leader of the Tien Clan and the Color Flag Legions is played
by Wong Shee Tong and a mysterious sprite of a woman named Green Shadow essayed
by Michelle Mee).
It most definitely does not help that the convoluted film's narrator -- a
scholar with no martial arts skills but plenty of reasoning ability named
Fong (portrayed by Lau Siu Ming) -- is hardly the most loquacious of communicators.
Fortunately, around the stage that I was about to give up with my efforts
to figure out what was supposed to be going on, a conversation takes place
which helps determine that: The period that THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS is
concerned with is one in which 72 powers are vying for control; some of them
have been attracted to the mysterious environs where there are rumored to
be killer butterflies on the loose; and found upon getting there that the
few of its residents -- including the couple introduced as Master and Lady
Shum (played by Cheung Kwok Chu and Chen Chi Chi respectively), plus a mute
girl named Ah Chee (who comes in the form of Hsu Hsiao Ling) -- who have
not fled away or died have taken to living in the spaces under the impressive
looking physical structure which they have effectively abandoned.
Gradually, events fall into place and connections are established between
them and such as the earlier killing of a printing press owner by a man claiming
to have eight previously unseen pages of scholar Fong's Red Leaf Memoirs.
Over time too, more and more secrets -- than there previously were thought
to exist -- of Shum Castle and its remaining denizens come to light.
These include the realization that certain individuals might not be who they
appear to be, along with there being within the subterranean labyrinths a
room which seems to have been dedicated to studies of butterflies and another
where experiments and inventions look to have been carried out to produce
all manner of deadly technology (including explosive powder and metal armor).
To some extent, matters get complicated even more with the arrival of three
renowned martial artists: Men who individually go by the names of Shuen,
Kwok and Li -- and titles of "Flying Cat", "Hell's Fire" and "A Thousands
Hands" (which give one an idea of their particular expertise: E.g.,
"A Thousand Hands" is the small weapons expert of the trio) -- but also are
collectively known as "The Thunders". At the same time, their incorporation
into THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS' complex setup represents and effectively fits
in the final pieces of jigsaw that make clear that this definitely is a Tsui
Hark picture.
By this, I mean that THE BUTTERFLY MURDERS is a multi-genre, multi-layered,
multi-message movie that seeks to make major assertions -- e.g., that "a
military society is founded on blood" and "a man who knows too much is a
burden on himself" -- even while it succeeds in being a film that visually
enthralls. Still, it will be pointed out that this is a dark and downbeat
Tsui Hark offering -- containing little humor, if at all -- and therefore
one more akin to "The Blade" than any other of his later offerings that I
have viewed thus far. Also, even while this ostensibly commercial production
surely is a technological achievement and all round solid piece of work,
it suffers as a film from the main man behind it seeming to have made more
effort to realize a particular vision of his than to actually (emotionally)
connect with its viewers. All in all, it may be retrospectively surmised
that although Mr. Tsui clearly had the technical know how at this early point
in his career, it took a few more attempts and years before he became the
master that he now is at getting his movies' audiences to feel as well as
think what and how he wants them to. Nonetheless...
My rating for this film: 7.5