Pretty Butterflies ( Bellas mariposas )

Pretty Butterflies (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Bellas mariposas
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Rotterdam International Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Italian ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
100 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Documentary
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 2012 and produced in:
Italy ( Italy, Greece )

Directed By:
Salvatore Mereu

Written By:
Sergio Atzeni
Salvatore Mereu

Actors:
Sara Podda ..... Cate
Maya Mulas ..... Luna
Davide Todde ..... Gigi
Micaela Ramazzotti ..... La Coga Aleni
Luciano Curreli ..... Padre di Cate
Maria Loi ..... Madre di Cate
Rosalba Piras ..... Signora Sias
Simone Paris ..... Tonio
Anna Karina Dyatlyk ..... Samantha
Giulia Coni ..... Luisella
Silvia Coni ..... Mandarina
Carlo Molinari ..... Signor Federico
Enrico Sanna ..... Fisino
Luca Sanna ..... Ricciotti
Gianluca Lai ..... Massimo

Synopsis:

All 12-year-old Caterina wants is to escape the house and dangerous neighborhood where she lives with her numerous siblings and tyrannical father in the slums of the Sardinian capital, Cagliari. She doesn't want to end up like her sister Mandarina, pregnant at 13. We learn all of this from her as she candidly narrates her own story, with humor and startling directness, often looking into the camera. When she learns that her brother Tonio wants to kill Gigi, a neighbor with whom she's in love, she sets out to stop him. A sense of urgency pervades her narration, as the camera travels in semi-documentary style through the almost deserted margins of Cagliari, following Caterina and her best friend Luna as they visit the beach, eat ice cream and joke around on the day the murder is supposed to happen. Based on a short story by Sardinian author Sergio Atzeni.

Caterina, a 12-year-old girl, lives in a run-down Sardinian neighborhood with her poverty-stricken family. Her father is a worthless and selfish and her brothers are hostile, leaving Caterina's mother to work long hours to support their large family. Caterina spends most of her time with her best friend Luna, escaping the frantic apartment she shares with her other siblings. While Caterina is certainly a well-adjusted girl, sex and violence are presented as everyday aspects of life in this poor area of Cagliari. There have been many films dealing with a similar subject matter as Salvatore Mereu's Pretty Butterflies but I'm not sure any of them have every been this personal in approach. The is a film more about character and setting than plot, with a free-wheeling narrative that provides a vivid portrait of a day in the life of Caterina. Evocative and Gritty, Pretty Butterflies is entirely from the point-of-view of the incredibly street smart and perceptive Caterina. Pretty Butterflies frequently breaks the fourth-wall, with Caterina talking directly into the camera with great effect. This type of approach doesn't always work but in Pretty Butterflies it makes the audience feel more than just a spectator, putting the viewer into this world with Caterina. While lots of films in this gritty setting are much more doom and gloom, Pretty Butterflies is refreshingly alive, showing how Caterina and Luna's street smarts help them navigate this threatening environment. In a way this film is more a celebration of life, even with the troubles and dangers which exist, with our young girl protagonists exuding exuberance and finding the whimsical aspects of life even in somewhat suspect situations. Salvatore Mereu's Pretty Butterflies captures a youthful perspective in such a refreshing way, showing that even in harsh environments the beautiful aspects of life can shine through.

3 August, Cagliari: a poor neighborhood. At three in the morning eleven-year-old Cate is woken by the screams of her eccentric neighbor. Cate wants to run away from that apartment, from her numerous and problematic siblings and her tyrannical father. Only Gigi, a neighbor, is worthy of her love. She does not want to end up like her sister Mandarina, who got pregnant at thirteen. Or like Samantha, the neighborhood sex siren. And today, on 3 August, Gigi's life is in danger: Tonio, Cate's brother, wants to kill him. Cate warns Luna, her best friend. The two of them spend the longest day of their lives between the city, the sea and a thousand adventures. But her beloved Gigi is in danger. And when everything seems lost, during the night a beautiful woman appears out of nowhere: the mysterious Aleni, a witch who apparently can see into people's futures...

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 07 February, 2014.

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