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THE BLUE BUTTERFLY
young actor Marc Donato
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Alan refuses: he is clearly not a person who finds it easy to do things for other people. But, as Pete’s desperation grows, he brusquely gives in, albeit without much grace, during a final three-way confrontation between himself, Pete and Teresa, “I’ll give you two days in the rainforest,” he tells Pete. “That’s all I can do. If we don’t find it, we’re too late. That’s it.”
The film is a UK/Canadian co-production, with further support coming from a variety of Canadian funding bodies and international sales handled by Alliance Atlantis. “It’s consistent with our plan of doing a mix of artistic, review-driven movies and higher-profile ones,” says Mickie of the $12.5-million project. “What attracted us to this one was the magnitude and the subject matter. We were interested in having a redemptive story with an upbeat ending. That’s fairly unusual for a Canadian film.”
The rainforest scenes also make The Blue Butterfly distinctly unusual - and not just for a Canadian film, either. Using the natural flora and fauna of the equatorial rainforest, plus a series of stunning waterfalls - and in story terms, a few Indiana Jones-style cliff-hangers - the movie is quite unlike anything Pool has done before. Moreover, she points out, “no camera has ever filmed before in a Costa Rican rainforest”. Its mythic proportions have clearly marked her, both as a film-maker and as a human being.
“We have been blessed with a dream team from Canada, the UK and Costa Rica,” says Allaire, singling out DOP Pierre Mignot, production designer Serge Bureau and sound engineer Ivan Sharrock. “We have wonderful actors who are deeply connected to this story and who are giving us the best of themselves: William Hurt, Marc Donato, Pascale Bussières and Raoul Trujillo. And the Bribri Indians have become part of this story with their myths and their humanity.”
“Like the characters in the script,” concludes Pool, “each one of us, cast and crew, experienced moments of ecstasy and despair. We have been through monsoon rains, stultifying heat and humidity, life-threatening snakes and scorpions…
“But miracles, however small, have blessed this production. In fact, we’ve lived the journey of our characters. Like them, we have been transformed. We hope this film is, as the Costa Ricans would put it, ‘pura vida’.”
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THE BLUE BUTTERFLY
Galafilm Productions, Global Arts
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Prod: Claude Bonin, Francine Allaire, Arnie Gelbart; Exec prod: Francine Allaire, Arnie Gelbart, Michael Haggiag; UK prod: Mike Treen; Dir: Léa Pool; Scr: Pete McCormack, based on a true story; Ph: Pierre Mignot; Prod des: Serge Bureau; Cost des: Michèle Hamel; CGI and Sp fx: Daniel Langlois; Ed: Michel Arcand.
With William Hurt (Alan Osborne), Marc Donato (Pete Carlton), Pascale Bussières (Teresa Carlton), Raoul Trujillo (Alejo).
International distribution:
Alliance Atlantis International.
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