Sweet, Beautiful, Touching..You Will Find All of this in "Le Papillon"

Every once in a while I come across a movie that is so good that I can't believe it was never shown in theaters here. That is my feelings about a wonderful French movie entitled “Le Papillon” from 2002.

I haven’t seen too many French movies but this one is a hidden gem. It stars Michel Serrault as Julien, an elderly man whose only interest in life is to catch and collect butterflies. He is “adopted” by a neglected 8 year old girl named Elsa (Claire Bouanich). She is absolutely adorable.

Elsa has had to learn how to take care of herself out of necessity. She tricks (stows away) Julien into taking her with him on a trip to the Alps where he is in search of a rare butterfly that only appears within a window of a few days a year. While on the trip, Elsa comes to love him as a grandfather figure, and he is able to bury some old ghosts that are in his life by opening his heart to her.

The scenery is of course, breathtaking, the dialogue is touching and sweet, and the love that grows between the two is life lasting. The neglectful mother learns the need to be a better mother to Elsa also and Julien continues to play a part in their lives. It is a very sweet movie. It is only 80 minutes long but it is a beautiful 80 minutes. You will come away with very tender feelings for Elsa and Julien.