“Society doesn’t want free men. They talk ‘freedom,’ ‘democracy,’ anything you want, but they don’t want free men. Society wants conditioned men, men who march in step.“
Release: 1973
Runtime: 2 hours, 30 min
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Biography
Language: English
MPAA Rating: PG
Starring: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe

Amazon Link: Papillon

SYNOPSIS: Papillon is the story of petty criminal Henri “Papillon” Charriere (Steve McQueen), who has been framed and convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Along with an assorted bunch of criminals, including famed counterfeiter Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), he is transported to the French penal colony of French Guiana. Dega, an outcast among criminals, strikes a deal with Papillon to protect him in exchange for funding his escape attempts. Life is harsh in the colony, and escape is discouraged: first escape attempt is punished by two years in solitary confinement, a second offence being punished by five years of solitary. Regardless, Papillon never loses the desire to escape, resulting in plenty of time in solitary. Both Dega and Papillon are eventually transferred to the hell of all hells – Devil’s Island. There are no bars in this jail as the strong currents and voracious sharks ensure enough of an escape deterrent – or at least so the authorities believe.

Based upon the book by Henri Charrière, this is the story of a man who endured the unendurable, suffered the insufferable, and escaped from the inescapable. Because the film revolves around just two characters, Papillon (which is French for ‘butterfly’ – the character even sports a large tattoo of a butterfly) and Dega, the whole film lives or dies upon the work of the two leads. McQueen and Hoffman are right at home in their roles. Papillon is a man of action, a safecracker, a physical presence, and McQueen delivers his signature brand of sullen machismo, always leaping into the heart of conflict, with a perpetual squint. This is arguably the greatest performance from Steve McQueen: covering the gamut of as a captive, from naive yardbird to nearly insane inmate in solitary. Hoffman, meanwhile, plays Dega as a frail, but cunning intellectual with coke-bottle glasses thrust into a violent world. He shambles around the prison colony trying to keep his nose clean and his glasses intact.

In the penal colony, they come face to face with the worst that man and nature have to offer. Death and despair surround them at every turn, and Papillon’s first escape attempt is foiled, gaining him an extended stay at the island of St. Joseph’s reclusion camp.

Then, as Papillon, Dega, and another prisoner set out on a harrowing escape, it becomes clear that the story has been working its way toward this sequence, the grand finale. The directorial style suddenly shifts into frenetic gear and McQueen and Hoffman rise to the challenge. In what is surely one of the greatest prison escapes ever put on film, Papillon and Dega dodge bullets, traverse jungles, sail across the ocean, and brave encounters with a leper colony, a bounty hunter, an indigenous tribe and the Honduran army.

The only problem is, the movie doesn’t end there. Papillon just keeps right on going… Every time it seems like it is about to end, it doesn’t. It’s like riding in a car with someone who keeps missing turns. Without ruining the conclusion, which does eventually come, Papillon and Dega are separated and then reunited for one last fateful decision.

Whilst the story really is good, the quality of the cinematography and the performances elevate this film into the status of a classic. As an indictment of the French penal system, it serves its purpose well indeed. Whilst this is certainly not going to be to everyone’s taste, this is a fine example of an epic from the early 1970s and as some have argued an early predecessor of the action blockbusters of today.

Papillon should be noted for its achievement as one of the better escape adventures yet captured on film (others would include the equally effective The Great Escape and Escape from Alcatraz).

Awards Notes:
Academy Award nomination: Best Music, Original Dramatic Score – Jerry Goldsmith
Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama – Steve McQueen

Goozlepipe Rating:Really Liked It

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