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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Madame Butterfly remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Look, if you like old-school melodrama that takes its sweet time, you’ll probably find something to love here. If you need your movies to move faster than a glacier or have a protagonist who isn't a complete jerk, maybe skip it. It's not exactly a barrel of laughs.
Sylvia Sidney is the only reason this works. She does so much with just her eyes that you almost forget how awful Pinkerton is being. It’s hard to watch her hope for something that you already know is a train wreck.
Cary Grant shows up too. It’s early-career stuff, and he’s charming, but he’s basically just window dressing here. He’s definitely not the focus, which is a bit weird given his later fame. Sometimes he just stands there looking handsome while everyone else is busy falling apart.
If you've seen something like Woman to Woman, you might recognize that specific kind of heavy, tragic mood. It’s that same brand of 'suffering for love' that was so big back then. It feels less like a real life and more like a fever dream about what Japan was supposed to look like to an American audience in the 30s.
I found myself getting frustrated with the pacing. It drags. It really drags. But then Sidney does something small, like tilting her head or catching her breath, and I’m back in it. It’s a messy movie. It’s not perfect. It’s definitely not subtle. But it has a pulse, even if it’s a faint one. 🦋
