Zach Musgrave / 24 de noviembre 2007

Butterfly (La lengua de las mariposas) (España)

1.     What is your favorite scene and why?

My favorite scene is at the very end of the movie, when Don Gregorio and the other Republicans are taken away by the fascists and the townspeople (including Moncho and his family) are jeering and yelling at them. It seems Moncho is having a hard time reconciling his staged hatred with his love for Don Gregorio. The scene’s emotion ties the entire impact of the film together, and is what provides the ending catharsis for the viewer. Also, Moncho’s shouting of the phrase Don Gregorio taught him for the tongue of the butterfly shows that despite instilled hatreds and social norms, friendship will prevail. It can be inferred that Moncho (and to a lesser extent, his family) does still care for Don Gregorio, despite his (their) going along with the rest of the townspeople to protect their own father and welfare.

2.     What is the climax of the movie?

The climax of the movie is also my favorite scene, at the very end when Don Gregorio is arrested. In a way the climax is a trifle predictable, with the action falling to Moncho in a “denounce or be denounced” sort of way that is common in movies where there is an ideological divide. The climax does wrap up the film quite nicely, and it shows the far-reaching effects of an all-out war: even a young boy is being traumatized. Furthermore, the climax and the burning of books that precedes it shows just how far people will go merely to survive and keep their heads down; personal beliefs turn out to simply just not matter too much when survival is concerned.

3.     Did you find anything striking, different, or strange? Explain.

I found the political conflict very different from that of today in the United States. The Nationalists and Republicans do not try to work together and seem to be unable to even coexist. Both sides seem to follow the “you’re either for us or you’re against us” mentality. This is of course the precursor to the Spanish Civil War, but I found it strange that the difference between the sides was ideological rather than political, and that violence would be used rather then the democratic process. It struck me that the Nationalists must not have had all the support they claimed or they would have just voted themselves into power.

Also, I suspect the title of the movie is supposed to be a pun, with “lengua” meaning both “tongue” and “language”. Hence, its use in the final scene shows Moncho’s reference to Don Gregorio’s lessons and to the language of friendship they both shared. I found this very significant because the message of the movie, though empirically suggesting a political motive, is really that human nature allows for friendship to be stronger than instilled hate.

4.     Can you connect any of the movie characters or themes to the United States, its society, culture, religion or politics?

The culture of fitting in among differing political ideologies seems to be similar to in the United States. In the movie, the villagers are either Republicans or Nationalists – there are no moderates, there is no in between. In the United States, almost all of the population is either Democratic or Republican – once again, there are no true moderates, there is no defined in between. So in terms of political theory, I think this shows a constant trend for the hot-button issues of the day to polarize the populace and eventually bring people into conflict with one another. This culture of conflict also results in the relevant country being less productive and functional than it could be otherwise.