In the Time of the Butterflies

Rating:
Summary: Time for the Dictators
Review: A fine, "minor" movie, with major themes. It is about resistance to a dictator, a woman's (and women's) liberation, and about the real meaning of what loss of freedom in a society means. Directed by Mariano Barrroso, the movie, spanning almost three decades, chronicles the life of a resistance movement leader, Minerva Mirabal (Salma Hayek), in the Dominican Republic, and her various confrontations with dictator Rafael Lenidas Trujillo (Edward James Olmos), who ruled that island nation with an iron hand from 1930 till his assassination in 1961. The movie focuses on his obsession with her and his attempts over many years to make her his mistress, bent on revenge when all his attempts prove futile. The movie implies that it was his frequent practice to visit the country, pick a young woman that filled his "eye," and then entice her to his palace for a dance. Many young women were thus impregnated and packed to Miami or other resting place afterwards. Minerva has the courage to resist, thus paying the price--her father's murder, and the imprisonment of her and her sisters. Mirand becomes the leader of an underground freedom movement under the code-name "the butterfly." Eventually, she is assassinated by his thugs, her sister and herself beaten to death with clubs. Her death is annually celebrated in Latin America, as a "violence against women" theme.
Tense, well-acted, enjoyable and horrifying, "The Times of the Butterflies" is a minor masterpiece, and an inspirational story, very much worth watching, despite the pan-and-scan format of this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Skip the DVD. Read the book!
Review: Adapted from the novel by Julia Alvarez about the three Mirabel sisters who were murdered by the Trujillo regime in the 1950s Dominican Republic, this 2001 made-for-TV-movie attempts to tell the story. I read the book several years ago and found it excellent. However, this film is rather thin and misses the richness of the story in several ways.

The film focuses on just one character, Minerva Mirabel, and that is one of its weaknesses. There were actually three sisters who were murdered and each one of them has her own complex story that is just hinted at in the film. Also, there was one sister who survived and her story is important too. But perhaps the limits of constricting a story into a tight time frame forced this abbreviated version.

Salma Hayek is the star and she does do a fine job. The wicked regime seems awful. But I just couldn't feel the emotions that were intended by the author. Of course it's a sad story; it's supposed to be. And, because of a wide TV audience, it probably reached a lot of people with its message of these heroic women who became martyrs for their cause.

Rating:
Summary: Good Try!
Review: After I finish reading the book "In the time of the Butterflies" of Julia Valdes I thought, Why this amaizing story is not converted in a movie? Then I learned about this movie so I bought it from Amazon. This have an special meening to me because I am Dominican and since I was a child I heard about the Miraval sisters and how they were killed. But the book is way better than the movie. The character of Minerva Miraval played by Selma Hayek did not achived the expected gold, the character in the book is more powerful defined. The Trujillo play by James Olmos started to look like the real Trujillo at the end of the movie but in grneral it was ok. The film although looks like Dominican Republic is filmed in Vera Cruz Mexico, and the extras used did not look Dominicans which did not fit with the reality, looking more like a mexican sopopera. Most of the places represented in the movie are still almost intact in the Dominican Republic and is a chame they were not used. So for me this movie was a Dominican story without the real Dominican flavor. But any way was a good try. At least it let the world know about a part of our history and the way the Dominican people suffer in that era to achived there freedom.

Rating:
Summary: In The Time Of The Butterflies
Review: Being Dominican my very first feild trip was to the butterflies museum in salcedo i love everything about it. it makes me proud to be dominican it makes me proud to be a woman. these 3 women lost their live fight against an cold man trujillo. i here my grandmothers stories of how they escaped just in time leaving only days ater the death of the ladies. i read the book a few years ago not knowing when i picked it up i just picked it cause the writer had the same last name as me. my grandmother returned in the 70's with my mother and aunts and uncles. too many ppl died fighting trujillo and i am so happy that this movie was made. november the 25th is the day that is mared as international day against violence against women. i thank julia for writting the book and telling this story it's not a full point by point story somethings are things she made up it's fiction based in truth with alot of research done to know the full story research or a dominican is needed. this was a great movie and the acting was inspiring but as always you should read the book aas well as watch the moive and choose which one is good but loved them both.
Vivan las Mariposas
long live the butterflies

Rating:
Summary: "Justice? Here? There is no justice."
Review: From 1931 until his assassination in 1960, Rafael Trujillo (El Jefe) was the brutal dictator of the Dominican Republic, remaining in power with the silent acquiescence of a fearful church, the aristocracy, intellectuals, and the press. Based on Julia Alvarez's strong novel of the same name, this film focuses on the role of the Mirabal sisters, known as "las Mariposas" (the Butterflies), in opposing Trujillo's brutal rule. As children living comfortably in the country, the Mirabal sisters had been protected from the political dangers of the city. When three of the four sisters, Minerva (Salma Hayek), Mate (Mia Maestro) and Patria (Lumi Cavazos) decide to go to a convent school in the city, leaving sister Dede (Pilar Padilla) behind, they are exposed for the first time to the realities of Trujillo's rule.

Some years later, Minerva, Mate, and Patria, now attractive young women, gain the unwelcome attention of El Jefe at a dance. When Minerva slaps his face because he fondles her, he retaliates by arresting and torturing her father. Vowing a personal revenge against him, Minerva eventually joins other students who work to foment rebellion--printing leaflets, distributing guns in the countryside, and speaking to women's groups. When Mate and Patria eventually join her, the three become known as Las Mariposas, "the Butterflies." Jailed and tortured when they are caught by Trujillo's army, they and their husbands hope that by their example they will make life better for their children and for their country.

Director Mariano Barroso sacrifices the broad scope and universal themes of the book by concentrating almost exclusively on the personal lives of "las Mariposas," the risks they took, and the tortures they endured. This narrow focus removes the Mirabal sisters from their political context and diminishes the sacrifices of thirty thousand other Dominicans who were executed by Trujillo. Though the four sisters are clearly differentiated in the book and show the important and quite different reasons that people do or do not fight a dictator, here they are virtually indistinguishable from each other, another sacrifice of the broad picture in favor of easier myth-making.

Salma Hayek is gorgeous, even under jailhouse conditions, posing so attractively in her closeups that it is difficult to imagine her as a committed revolutionary. Edward James Olmos, as Trujillo, alternately sneers and smirks but remains mostly an off-screen presence. Several scenes of sadistic violence stir the emotions, but do not provide the catharsis of real tragedy. Though it is admirable that Hollywood chose to memorialize "the Butterflies," it is too bad that the film feels more like a Hollywood production than a memorial to the very real women who made such real sacrifices. Mary Whipple

Rating:
Summary: innaccurate and "made for Hollywood"
Review: I am Dominican. I know my own history. I particularly know the story of the Mirabal sisters. I had a teacher in high school, back in DR, who went to the university with Minerva Mirabal. We learned everything about the Mirabal sisters through our teacher, reading through our history books, and newspapers. Their lives were more real than those portraited in the film. Also, the novel give a better account of both historical and fictional events. Salma had the right idea; however, the film came short of being powerful and unduring. Their lives were not to be taken so lightly. I am glad that the story of the Mirabals came to life in an international level. They were free and independent long before other women started taking away their brassieres. ¡Vivan las Mariposas!

Rating:
Summary: Butterflies is severely disappointing
Review: I am totally unaware of Julia Alvarez's novel. Thus, I can only evaluate what I see on the screen. Salma Hayek fails to bring Minerva Mirabal to life. We are instead presented with a cardboard character lacking depth and complexity. The same thing essentially holds true for Edward James Olmos' interpretation of the evil Dominican Republic dictator, Rafael Trujillo. I am utterly convinced that few superb films can be produced in anything less than three months time. Sadly, Butterflies comes across as a low budget film that had to be finished within a few weeks.

The three Mirabal sisters (nicknamed the butterflies) were leaders in the fight against Trujillo. They were raised in a solidly middle class during the late 1930s and atypically received an education denied to most women of their era. Minerva apparently was the very first female to earn a law degree in her male chauvinist and reactionary social milieu. We observe her growing political interest---and this is where the movie truly fails. Minerva Mirabal was obviously not a pacifist adherent of Mahatma Ghandi. Still, we never clearly learn whether she was an outright Communist or a devoted liberal democrat. Would she have helped her nation gain its independence, or naively doom it to become a totalitarian dictatorship similar to Fidel Castro's Cuba? There is no doubt but that the eventually murdered sisters were courageous idealists. Nonetheless, were they wise and prudent? These issues are left hanging and never adequately resolved. I also wish Butterflies had dealt more fully with the allegations that Trujillo pursued a policy of genocide concerning those with with darker skin. Was he an admirer of Adolph Hitler's pseudoscientific racial purity doctrines? Such a provocative theme certainly deserved more than a brief remark.

I can only give Butterflies three stars and that's being very generous. Hopefully, this story will be retold in the very near future. I know that I will be among the very first in line if this indeed ever occurs.

Rating:
Summary: Butterflies is severely disappointing
Review: I am totally unaware of Julia Alvarez�s novel. Thus, I can only evaluate what I see on the screen. Salma Hayek fails to bring Minerva Mirabal to life. We are instead presented with a cardboard character lacking depth and complexity. The same thing essentially holds true for Edward James Olmos� interpretation of the evil Dominican Republic dictator, Rafael Trujillo. I am utterly convinced that few superb films can be produced in anything less than three months time. Sadly, Butterflies comes across as a low budget film that had to be finished within a few weeks.

The three Mirabal sisters (nicknamed the butterflies) were leaders in the fight against Trujillo. They were raised in a solidly middle class during the late 1930s and atypically received an education denied to most women of their era. Minerva apparently was the very first female to earn a law degree in her male chauvinist and reactionary social milieu. We observe her growing political interest---and this is where the movie truly fails. Minerva Mirabal was obviously not a pacifist adherent of Mahatma Ghandi. Still, we never clearly learn whether she was an outright Communist or a devoted liberal democrat. Would she have helped her nation gain its independence, or naively doom it to become a totalitarian dictatorship similar to Fidel Castro�s Cuba? There is no doubt but that the eventually murdered sisters were courageous idealists. Nonetheless, were they wise and prudent? These issues are left hanging and never adequately resolved. I also wish Butterflies had dealt more fully with the allegations that Trujillo pursued a policy of genocide concerning those with with darker skin. Was he an admirer of Adolph Hitler�s pseudoscientific racial purity doctrines? Such a provocative theme certainly deserved more than a brief remark.

I can only give Butterflies three stars and that�s being very generous. Hopefully, this story will be retold in the very near future. I know that I will be among the very first in line if this indeed ever occurs.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves a Much Wider Audience
Review: I appreciate the comments from other reviewers, especially those from the Dominican Republic, for whom this deeply moving story is a familiar one. I ask them to consider, however, that for many viewers outside Latin America this story of the raw courage and self-sacrifice of the Mirabal sisters in opposing the brutal Trujillo dictatorship is virtually unknown.

For all the shortcomings mentioned below -- not being filmed in the Dominican Republic, plot of movie thinner than the book, etc. -- the film is an important introduction to a part of the common history of the Western Hemisphere. It tells a compelling story about events with which even those of us who try to stay abreast of developments in Latin America may nonetheless have been unaware.

The portrayals of the two principal characters -- Selma Hayek as Minerva Mirabal and Edward James Olmos as Trujillo -- are of a very high standard indeed. As other reviewers confirm, the film has inspired many who had previously known little of the Dominican Republic or of the Trujillo regime to delve further into the history and politics of this period, and in particular to learn all they can about the remarkable courage of the Mirabal sisters.

Like another neglected masterpiece -- Michael Verhoeven's "The White Rose" ("Die Weisse Rose"), which recounts the similarly selfless (almost reckless) courage of Hans and Sophie Scholl in leading a resistance movement against Hitler at the University of Munich in the 1940s -- this film tell a compelling story of resistance against hopeless odds and an almost incomprehensible personal courage. Despite a few minor weaknesses, "In the Time of the Butterflies" is a compelling film that greatly deserves to be seen by a wider audience (and the modest cost of this excellent DVD allows that to happen).

My one reservation is that -- particularly since both Selma Hayek and Edward James Olmos are a joy to listen to in the Spanish language -- it is a pity that no Spanish language sound track was included (there are only subtitles in Spanish). Perhaps MGM will do us the favor of reissuing this important DVD in a dual-language format, with both principal actors speaking their roles in Spanish? (One would think that the Spanish-speaking market for a film with these two very popular Spanish-speaking actors would be at least as great as the English-speaking one.)

In any case, it is clearly a distortion for a film like this, with a compelling theme on a neglected and important episode of recent history and with two fine actors in the principal roles, to be given only one or two stars, when the latest special-effects driven vapidity from the major studios typically receives four or five. Very strongly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves a Much Wider Audience
Review: I appreciate the comments from other reviewers, especially those from the Dominican Republic, for whom this deeply moving story is a familiar one. I ask them to consider, however, that for many viewers outside Latin America this story of the raw courage and self-sacrifice of the Mirabal sisters in opposing the brutal Trujillo dictatorship is virtually unknown.

For all the shortcomings mentioned below -- not being filmed in the Dominican Republic, plot of movie thinner than the book, etc. -- the film is an important introduction to a part of the common history of the Western Hemisphere. It tells a compelling story about events with which even those of us who try to stay abreast of developments in Latin America may nonetheless have been unaware.

The portrayals of the two principal characters -- Selma Hayek as Minerva Mirabal and Edward James Olmos as Trujillo -- are of a very high standard indeed. As other reviewers confirm, the film has inspired many who had previously known little of the Dominican Republic or of the Trujillo regime to delve further into the history and politics of this period, and in particular to learn all they can about the remarkable courage of the Mirabal sisters.

Like another neglected masterpiece -- Michael Verhoeven's "The White Rose" ("Die Weisse Rose"), which recounts the similarly selfless (almost reckless) courage of Hans and Sophie Scholl in leading a resistance movement against Hitler at the University of Munich in the 1940s -- this film tell a compelling story of resistance against hopeless odds and an almost incomprehensible personal courage. Despite a few minor weaknesses, "In the Time of the Butterflies" is a compelling film that greatly deserves to be seen by a wider audience (and the modest cost of this excellent DVD allows that to happen).

My one reservation is that -- particularly since both Selma Hayek and Edward James Olmos are a joy to listen to in the Spanish language -- it is a pity that no Spanish language sound track was included (there are only subtitles in Spanish). Perhaps MGM will do us the favor of reissuing this important DVD in a dual-language format, with both principal actors speaking their roles in Spanish? (One would think that the Spanish-speaking market for a film with these two very popular Spanish-speaking actors would be at least as great as the English-speaking one.)

In any case, it is clearly a distortion for a film like this, with a compelling theme on a neglected and important episode of recent history and with two fine actors in the principal roles, to be given only one or two stars, when the latest special-effects driven vapidity from the major studios typically receives four or five. Very strongly recommended.