Giving Birth to a Butterfly (2021) Poster

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6/10
Hmm...
BandSAboutMovies25 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Mirna Loy once wrote:

"We might have coupled In the bed-ridden monopoly of a moment Or broken flesh with one another At the profane communion table Where wine is spilled on promiscuous lips

We might have given birth to a butterfly With the daily news Printed in blood on its wings."

She also once wrote that the inward dimension or the fifth dimension was the source of great art and literature, as well as where genius resides.

So between a poem that lamented the loss of her relationship with Futurist Giovanni Papini and her worry that she'd forever lost any ability to feel sexual yearning again, as well as her thoughts on how the superconscious -- "We are but a ramshackle edifice around an external exaltation, a building in which the moralities are a flight of stairs whose bases dissolve in the wake of our ascension" -- really have a lot to do with this film, even more than giving it a title.

The Dents, Diane and Daryl, (real life couple Annie Parisse and Paul Sparks) are a married couple who we get the feeling have forgotten why they ever came together but cannot forget that they could honestly leave each other or leave each other dead at any moment. There's constant tension brimming, all while Diane has her identity stolen, Daryl has dreams that the family is forced to follow, their daughter Danielle (Rachel Resheff) becomes part of a school play, their son Andrew has a pregnant girlfriend named Marlene (Gus Birney) who tries to become part of the family as her mother Monica (Constance Shulman) loudly exclaims that she's a famous actress who has become forgotten.

When Diane decides to figure out who took her identity and why they've taken all of the family's money, she enlists Marlene's aid and sets off on a road trip. When they knock on the door of the people behind the crime, they meet two white haired twins -- both named Nina, noth played by Judith Roberts -- who are not living on the same wavelength as the rest of the world.

Diane has spent years -- decades? -- making everyone else happy and always finding herself in the role of the bad guy. And yet she keeps working extra hours and selling her clothes and just giving in to every infraction but certainly, it all has to be too much at some time, right?

Director Theodore Schaefer, who co-wrote the story with Patrick Lawler, gives in to surreaism at the end, as the world of the real becomes unreal and may give the two women at the center of the story the opening they need to change the direction of their lives.

The superconscious has the ability tto acquire knowledge through psychic methods, then pass that knowledge on to our conscious mind, transcending the ways that we normally perceive the world, allowing us the ability to process more information and more importantly, make more changes to ourself. It's were true creativity is found.

This is about 77 minutes of said superconscious.
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3/10
More like an artistic than Mystery film
homeflash1 June 2023
If you think you are artistic, have some sort of profound thinking about philosophy. This movie may be for you.

The movie starts out okay with normal life situation although a bit usual about how family accepts a girl who is pregnant by other man to his son's girl friend.

I totally do not understand the last part. If the past of the movie make it like ghost like ending, that may be better.

To me, the whole movies does not make sense at all. However, if you are into the dialogues and have deep thought about what they are talking about. Maybe you can comprehend what this movie is all about. I basically was looking for some mystery to watch. This movie gives you more question marks than mystery.
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10/10
Brilliant debut!
theknorks19 August 2021
Wow! From the brilliant mind of an amazing up-and-coming director, Giving Birth to a Butterfly consistently amazes in a visual and visceral way. Theodore "Ted" Schaefer and Patrick Lawler bring their dark and ominous vision to life: Diana, whose identity has been stolen, bonds with her son's pregnant girlfriend as they travel on a surreal journey to track down the thieves. Annie Parisse is captivating as Diana, while The Mist's Gus Birney plays a delightful turn as Marlene. The always welcome Judith Roberts is sensational as the adrift Nina, and Cesar J. Rosado delivers as Chef. This unique, one-of-a-kind, masterfully shot, edited, and acted film deserves high praise - I look forward to seeing it again!
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