Movie Review: Papillon (1973) directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), nicknamed “Papillon” after the butterfly tattoo on his chest, is convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana often referred to as “Devil’s Island.” On the ship taking the convicts there, he makes an alliance with counterfeiter Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a rather frail man who needs protection but has a stash of money. Dega is confident his wife and their crafty attorney will find a way to free him, so doesn’t need to escape himself, but is willing to bankroll Papillon’s attempts.
However, the Bagne de Cayenne (of which the Ile du Diable is just one part, has a reputation for being “inescapable” for good reason. The years ahead will be filled with torment and plans ranging from disastrous to partially successful as the two men’s friendship deepens.
This movie is based on the autobiography of Henri Charrière of the same title, published in 1969. The book is almost certainly embellished by weaving the stories of other convicts in as though Papillon had done them, and the French government disputed whether Charrière had ever been on Devil’s Island to begin with, as opposed to a mainland prison. (That might explain why this is an American movie rather than a French one.)
At two and a half hours, there’s a lot of incidents in this movie, including several long scenes with no dialogue as first Papillon spends time in solitary confinement after his first escape attempt, and then time with a native tribe where no one speaks French during his second attempt. Papillon starts the film strong and confident, but ages badly in prison and is near breaking several times. (Shoutout to the makeup department.)
While money can buy some comforts in prison, it turns out not to be very helpful in escaping; everyone Papillon gives a payment to betrays him, while those who help for their own reasons are trustworthy. The pious Mother Superior (Barbara Morrison) is especially galling with her “if you are innocent, God will protect you” after she turns him in but keeps Papillon’s pearls.
Mind, while Papillon isn’t a murderer (so far as we are ever told), he is a crook, a safecracker who might have been sent to Devil’s Island for robbery if he hadn’t been framed for the other thing. He’s not exactly shy about using knives, either.
Another notable role is Maturette (Robert Deman), an infirmary assistant who actually did commit murder, but is otherwise a fairly decent fellow. It’s a portrayal of a gay man that’s relatively sympathetic for the time it was made, but as you might expect from films of the time period, he isn’t getting to the end alive.
Content note: Lethal violence, some bloody. A man is guillotined. Torture. Animals are killed, mostly for food. Male (from a distance, butts) and female (toplessness) nudity. Rough language, a scene where a character gets a tattoo might be too intense for some viewers.
Overall: an interesting and intense movie that shows off McQueen and Hoffman to advantage. Due to its nature, I cannot recommend this for below senior high viewers.
