“Legend of the Butterfly”—adaptation of “Butterfly Lovers”
Genre: Romance/Fantasy/Action
Director: Ang Lee (Hong Kong)
Cast
Zhang Ziyi (Mainland) ….Zhu Yingtai
Leonardo DiCaprio (USA) ….Sam (Liang Shanbo)
Any male actor …. Ma Wencai
Kou Shixun (Taiwan) …. Father of Zhu Yingtai
Setting
The 1870s-1880s (the end of the Qing Dynasty).
Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
Plot
Due to the Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1984) initiated by many important officials of the Qing Dynasty ( 1644-1911) , Chinese young people were sent abroad by the government and on individual in the hope that national regeneration could be achieved through the application of Western practical methods since the 1870th. It was a period of change and conflict.
In 1882, Ma Wencai, 19 years old, son of the Senior Official of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province is selected and sent to the United States to learn ship design and shipbuilding technology. Zhu Yingtai, 16 yeas old, daughter of a conservative instructor working in an old-style private school in Shangyu City. The feudal norms would never allow women to go abroad. However, Zhu Yingtai has not been content with the “Three Words Verse”, the “Hundred Families Surnames”, and Tang poems and wanted to see more. She disguises her with man’s costume and a hat to cover her hair and boards the ship heading for the United States by the help of Ma Wencai, her acquaintance of childhood. In the hurry of running out, she only brings some necessities and a small glass box with a dry butterfly in it. One year ago, she saw a dead butterfly in a small valley near her home. She calls it “Butterfly Valley”, because there are many beautiful butterflies flying around. She brought the butterfly home and kept it in the glass box. The wings of the butterfly are red. To Yingtai, the redness is the color of Chinese wedding, representing passion, hope and love.
She goes to MIT with Ma Wencai and starts learning English. One month later, she meets a young boy, Sam, 19 years old, son of a shipbuilding professor of the university when attending a class with Ma Wencai. The professor is very familiar with Chinese language and culture, because he has been to China with American ambassadors for a great many times. Influenced by his father, Sam is learning Chinese and traditions. They do not talk much, but Sam and Yingtai strongly feel that they have been friends or more than friends since the previous life.
Sam invites Yingtai to a home dinner one day. When looking around his bedroom, Yingtai surprisingly finds a same dry butterfly on the desk. The butterfly was a gift from Sam’s father. Both of them cannot believe that two people with so many differences would have so many similarities. Yingtai tells Sam her feeling about redness. Sam shows his left arm and she sees a tattoo of the red butterfly that was made by one of his Native American friends. Yingtai tells Sam that in China the marriage and wedding are arranged by parents. Once she marries a man, she will always be his and obey him. Since then Sam has decided that he wants Yingtai to be his bride.
Three years pass by quickly. They learn languages, Taichi and Wushu together, but Yingtai has never officially accepted Sam’s love. She receives a letter from her father and has to go back home with Ma Wencai. Sam’s mother is a smart and kind lady. She knows everything between them and encourages both of them to pursue true love. Therefore, Yingtai leaves with hopes to marry Sam and Sam follows her to China without any hesitation.
After arriving in China, Sam goes to visit Yingtai’s father immediately. He knows the strictness of Chinese parents, but he expects to persuade her parents with his true love. Things go contrary to his wishes. He is kicked out by two strong servants and informed that Yingtai is doomed to marry Ma Wencai. Yingtai and Sam cannot believe this at all. She tries to talk to his father but fails. Sam is warned that he does not belong to this country and should not see her again, or he may be killed.
Yingtai has to pretend to be ill and tries to postpone the wedding as long as possible. During this period, she takes Sam to the valley. She tells him that her grandmother often tells her a legend about the valley. The red butterflies they keep show up only when the valley is covered by thick fog and some couples who do not obey their parents to marry someone else have jumped into the fog and turn into red butterflies instead of dying. Looking into the deep valley, Sam slightly shakes his head. Another year passes by. Sam loves Shangyu, the small city, the “Butterfly Valley” named by his lover, and Yingtai more and more. Yingtai often says that Sam has become a Chinese boy.
In the beginning of 1887, Ma Wencai’s father sends huge sedan chair and hundreds of armed guards to take Yingtai to marry his son. She cries, struggles and even threats to die. However, she is still a weak young girl. On the way, Sam watches the sedan chair carrying his eternal lover to her doomed wedding. He even does not realize how to move himself and eventually stand on the edge of the “Butterfly Valley”. The valley is covered by thick fog. He sees couples of vague red shadows flying around. He slowly touches his butterfly tattoo, the glass box Yingtai has given to him with two red butterflies in it now and wonders if the legend is true. He closes his eyes, breathes, stretches his arms, and jumps off the cliff. The beautiful red creatures and the thick fog carry him softly to meet his eternal butterfly lover.
Ever since, people can always see a pair of butterflies with red wings flying and chasing each other in the valley. They are there even when there is no fog in the valley.
