Butterfly [Mariposa] *** (2015, Ailín Salas, Javier De Pietro, Malena Villa, Julián Infantino, Justo Calabria) – Classic Movie Review 13,204

‘Do you believe in parallel universes?’

Writer/ director Marco Berger’s 2015 Argentine drama film Butterfly [Mariposa] mixes in fantasy, romance and science fiction to its parallel universes story, and is teasing, tantalising and sexy.

It is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of this interesting, quite clever but inevitably very confusing intertwined twin parallel universes story. Marco Berger keeps it quite teasing, tantalising, ambiguous and sexy, as usual. Butterfly [Mariposa] is a pleasing enough experience and a likeable film, but more as a bold experiment than a wholly successful achievement. The five young main actors are appealing and give fresh and attractive performances. But what’s it all about? Entirely up to you. It’s quite baffling.

A butterfly, symbolising rebirth and a new beginning, epitomises Romina (Ailín Salas)’s and Germán (Javier De Pietro)’s world of two parallel realities, or possibly possibilities.

In one possible reality, Romina is abandoned by her biological mother, and then raised by another family, with Germán as an adoptive brother. They grow up as siblings who desire each other but try to shape their love without sexual fulfilment as they are forbidden to have carnal desire.

In the other possible reality, Romina and Germán are a young woman and man who have other relationships and have to form an awkward friendship instead of succumbing to their feelings for each other. Germán finds himself in a discordant relationship with Mariela (Malena Villa), because he is attracted to Romina, while Mariela’s brother Juan Pablo (Justo Calabria) is interested in Bruno (Julián Infantino). Bruno is with Romina, but wants to be with Germán, who gently rejects him and eventually Bruno finds what he is seeking in Juan Pablo (Justo Calabria).

With the film alternating playfully between these two realities, the lovers find themselves drawn into ever new couplings to explore their intuitive feelings – cautiously so, but apparently prepared to lose everything.

Baffling and elusive it may be, but it is not pretentious, rather it is quite sensual and charming.

It was screened in the Panorama section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.

Release date: 7 February 2015 (Berlin Film Festival) and 6 August 2015 (Argentina).

Country: Argentina.

Language: Spanish.

Runtime: 103 minutes.

PG 18+

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction.

The cast are Javier De Pietro, Ailín Salas, Malena Villa, Jorge Díez, María Laura Cali, Justo Calabria, Julián Infantino and Pilar Fridman.

The films of Marco Berger: Plan B (2009), Absent [Ausente] (2011), Hawaii (2013), Butterfly [Mariposa] (2015), Taekwondo (2016), The Blond One [Un Rubio] (2019),Young Hunter [El Cazador] (2020), The Carnival (2021), Horseplay (2023), and The Astronaut Lovers [Los amantes astronautas] (2024).

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,204

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com