''Papillon'' is a 2017

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by Michael Noer and also the last film by

Red Granite Pictures Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland in 2010. Its productions included ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and ''Dumb and Dumber To''. It was dissolved in 2018 after be ...

. It tells the story of French convict

Henri Charrière Henri Charrière (; 16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was a French writer, convicted in 1931 as a murderer by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the novel '' Papillon'', a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a pena ...

(

Charlie Hunnam Charles Matthew Hunnam (; born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Pete Dunham in ''Green Street Hooligans'' (2005) and as Jax Teller in the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014). For the latter, he was ...

), nicknamed ''Papillon'' ("

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

"), who was falsely imprisoned in 1933 in the notorious Devil's Island penal colony and escaped in 1941 with the help of another convict, counterfeiter

Louis Dega Louis Dega (sometimes written Louis Delga) is the name of a character in Henri Charrière's novel '' Papillon''. In the 1973 film this character was played by Dustin Hoffman and in the 2017 film the role was played by Rami Malek. Purportedly an ...

(

Rami Malek Rami Said Malek (; , ; born May 12, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for portraying computer hacker Elliot Alderson in the USA Network television series ''Mr. Robot'' (2015–2019), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

). The film's screenplay is based on Charrière's autobiographies '' Papillon'' and '' Banco'', as well as the former's 1973 film adaptation, which was written by

Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), ''Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) ...

and

Lorenzo Semple Jr. Lorenzo Elliott Semple III (March 27, 1923March 28, 2014) was an American screenwriter and sometime playwright, best known for his work on the campy television series '' Batman'', who also received writing credit on the political/espionage fil ...

and starred

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

and

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

. ''Papillon'' premiered on September 9, 2017, in the Special Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

Henri "Papillon" Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is framed for murder. Though he has an alibi from his lover, Nenette, Papillon is convicted and condemned to the notorious Devil's Island penal colony in

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

— a hellish prison from which nobody has escaped. On the ship to South America, Papillon meets a quirky counterfeiter named Louis Dega. That evening Dega is awakened as two convicts murder a prisoner sleeping next to him in order to cut open his stomach and steal the money he had swallowed. Papillon forms an unlikely alliance with Dega, who is targeted by the other prisoners who suspect him of also hiding money. Papillon saves Dega's life and is punished for fighting by the guards. In exchange for Papillon's protection, Dega agrees to finance Papillon's escape, ultimately resulting in a bond of lasting friendship. While Papillon and Dega are ordered to carry away a guillotined body, a guard starts to whip Dega. Papillon strikes the guard with a rock and runs into the jungle for his first escape. He is given two years of silent solitary confinement. After the warden learns he has been receiving extra food, his rations are cut in half until he gives up the name of his supplier. Papillon does not betray Dega. The second escape plan is made from the prison infirmary, while Papillon is feigning insanity from his confinement. Dega does the warden's bookkeeping and has money to fund the escape. Celier has a connection to get a boat, and the sexually abused Maturette is the fourth to join the dangerous venture. Dega drugs the guards using pills meant to sedate a supposedly insane Papillon and the three others escape over the walls to the jungle, with Dega injuring his leg in the process, to reach a boat Dega paid for. As a storm approaches, it is clear they will not all survive in the small leaky boat. Celier wants to kill the injured Dega but Papillon defends Dega, who stabs and kills Celier as he fights with Papillon. After a treacherous storm destroys their boat, the three survivors find themselves being cared for in a Colombian convent. Their apparent freedom is short lived. The Colombian authorities arrive, kill Maturette, and return Papillon to Royal Island, where he is subjected to five years in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

. Dega is sent to Devil's Island. Papillon is released from solitary as a weathered older man and sent to Devil's Island, where the high cliffs provide a natural barrier for escape attempts. He finds Dega who has adjusted to prison life and has no interest in escape. Because a fall from the cliffs would mean certain death, Papillon bags coconuts together for a raft. During a swell of waves, he jumps from the cliffs and survives the fall. The third escape is a success and he is a free man. He writes a memoir based on his time in prison and escape attempts. The movie postscript reads: "Over 80,000 prisoners were condemned to the penal colony in French Guiana, most of whom never returned to France. Henri Charriere's autobiography 'Papillon' became the number one bestseller for 21 weeks in France. To date, it has sold over 13 million copies in 30 languages. In 1970, the French

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

signed a decree allowing Charriere to return to France. For the remainder of his life, he lived a free man. The penal colony in French Guiana did not survive him".

Cast

as Henri "Papillon" Charrière *

Christopher Fairbank Christopher Fairbank (born 4 October 1953) is an English film, stage and television actor. Career In 2010, he appeared as a detective in ''Five Daughters'', and as Alfred "Freddie" Lennon in the biopic ''Lennon Naked ''Lennon Naked'' is ...

as Jean Castilli *

Yorick van Wageningen Yorick van Wageningen (born 16 April 1964) is a Dutch actor who has performed in Dutch and American films, including ''The Chronicles of Riddick'' and the 2011 remake of ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo''. Life and career Van Wageningen was b ...

as Warden Barrot *

Roland Møller Roland Møller (; born 28 May 1972) is a Danish actor. He won the Bodil Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for ''Land of Mine'' (2015), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Nordvest'' (2013). He has appeared in high-profile films like ...

as Celier *

Tommy Flanagan Thomas Lee Flanagan (March 16, 1930 – November 16, 2001) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. ...

as Masked Breton *

Eve Hewson Eve Hewson (born Memphis Eve Sunny Day Iris Hewson; 7 July 1991) is an Irish actress, whose father is the singer Bono. Her first major role was in the 2011 drama film '' This Must Be the Place'', and she made her television debut as Nurse Lucy E ...

as Nenette *

Michael Socha Michael Robert Socha (born 13 December 1987) is an English actor, known for his roles in the films ''This Is England'' and ''Summer'', and the television series ''This Is England '86'', '' '88'', '' '90'', '' Being Human'', '' Once Upon a Time ...

as Julot *

Brian Vernel Brian Vernel (born 29 December 1990) is a Scottish actor best known for his film role in ''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' and as the character Odda the Younger in the TV series ''The Last Kingdom (TV series), The Last Kingdom'' and Billy Wallac ...

as Guittou *

Ian Beattie Ian Beattie (born 3 March 1965) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is best known for playing Antigonus in the film ''Alexander'' (2004) and Ser Meryn Trant in the television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2015). Career Beattie’s star ...

as Toussaint * Nicholas Asbury as Commandant * Nikola Kent as Deputy Warden Brioulet *

Slavko Sobin Slavko Sobin (born 13 November 1984 in Split) is a Croatian actor. Biography At 18 Sobin moved to Los Angeles to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he graduated in 2007. Upon his return to Croatia, he moved to Zagreb an ...

as El Caiman * Joel Basman as Maturette *

Luka Peroš Luka Peroš (born 28 October 1976) is a Croatian actor best known for the role of Marseille in '' Money Heist''. Peroš is a polyglot and multilingual, being able to speak eight different languages. He speaks fluent English. Early life Peroš gr ...

as Santini *

Demetri Goritsas Demetri Goritsas is an American actor of Greek and Norwegian descent. He is best known for his roles as Ethan in the Sky One television series ''Baddiel's Syndrome'' and Max Cain in the psychological thriller television series '' Modus''. He ...

as Jean-Pierre Castelnau

Production

''Papillon'' was shot in different locations around Europe including

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Release

''Papillon'' was released in the United States by

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was ...

on August 24, 2018.

Reception

Box office

The film debuted to $1.2 million from 544 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing 16th. , ''Papillon'' had grossed $2,335,896 in the United States and Canada, and $2,180,684 in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $4,516,580.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 52% based on reviews from 111 critics, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Papillon'' puts its own well-acted, solidly produced spin on a previously adapted tale, although it suffers in comparison to the 1973 version." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 51 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Papillon 2017 2017 films 2010s prison films 2017 drama films 2010s French-language films American crime drama films American adventure drama films Films based on non-fiction books American prison films Films about prison escapes Films produced by Ram Bergman Films set in jungles Films set on Devil's Island Remakes of American films Films shot in Montenegro Films shot in Malta Films shot in Serbia Films set in French Guiana Films set in the French colonial empire Films set in the 1930s Red Granite Pictures films 2010s adventure drama films Films scored by David Buckley Films directed by Michael Noer 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2017 multilingual films American multilingual films