La lengua de las mariposas (1999)

Director:

José Luis Cuerda

Writers:

Rafael Azcona (writer)
José Luis Cuerda (writer)

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Music | War

Tagline:

A magical tale about growing up in country growing apart.

Plot:

For Moncho, it's an idyllic year: he starts school, he has a wonderful teacher, he makes a friend in Roque...

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Betrayal | Coming Of Age | School | Friend

Awards:

5 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Don Gregorio
Manuel Lozano	...	Moncho
Uxía Blanco	...	Rosa
Gonzalo Uriarte	...	Ramón
Alexis de los Santos	...	Andrés
Jesús Castejón	...	D. Avelino
Guillermo Toledo	...	O'Lis
Elena Fernández	...	Carmiña
Tamar Novas	...	Roque
Tatán	...	Roque Padre
Roberto Vidal Bolaño	...	Boal (as Roberto Vidal)
Celso Parada	...	Macias
Celso Bugallo	...	Cura
Antonio Lagares	...	Alcalde (as Tucho Lagares)
Milagros Jiménez	...	Nena

Also Known As:

Butterfly's Tongue (Philippines: English title) (UK)
A Lingua das bolboretas (Spain: Galician title)
Butterfly (DVD title)
Butterfly Tongues (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for a strong sex scene.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R

Company:

Canal+ España

Soundtrack:

La orquesta azul

Wow!

What a great film! It puts the Spanish Civil War in perspective and shows how awful living under "el franquismo" was going to be. You can feel the exhilaration of living under the Republic and the darkness the country begins to slide into. Spanish film, overshadowed by Pedro Almodovar's quirky film, is really coming into its own and, unfortunately, is often overlooked and undervalued. The settings are true to the era, capturing the feel of Spain in the 1930s. The acting is superb, and the script is great. Plus, there is no overdone drama. The child actor is adorable without being made the object of cuteness, and Fernando Fernan Gomez is lovable without being sappy or sentimental. All I can say is "Wow!"