Papillon (2017)
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The story
Henri "Papillon" Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is framed for murder and condemned to the notorious Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana—a hellish prison from which nobody has escaped. While being transported to the colony, he meets Louis Dega, a quirky counterfeiter. The two men form an unlikely alliance and a bond of lasting friendship. Despite the harsh conditions and the threat of the guards, they begin a desperate struggle to survive and eventually find a way to escape the confines of the island.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Henri "Papillon" Charrière, a Parisian safecracker, is framed for murder and sentenced to the notorious Devil's Island in French Guiana. During transport, he meets Louis Dega, a counterfeiter. After Dega is targeted by other prisoners, Papillon saves his life, and the two form a bond of friendship; Dega agrees to fund Papillon's escape. Papillon's first escape attempt into the jungle leads to years of solitary confinement, during which he refuses to betray Dega. A second escape attempt involving Dega, a woman named Maturette, and a man named Celier leads them into the jungle. After a storm destroys their boat, they are taken to a Colombian convent, where Maturette is killed and Papillon is returned to prison. Years later, as an older man, Papillon is sent back to Devil's Island. He finds Dega, who has given up on escape. Papillon successfully executes a third escape by jumping from the cliffs onto a raft. He eventually writes a memoir of his experiences and lives as a free man.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 133
- Production countries
- Malta; Montenegro; United States; Serbia
- Original languages
- English; French
- Directors
- Michael Noer
- Writers
- Aaron Guzikowski · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Charlie Hunnam · Henri Charrière; Rami Malek · Louis Dega; Roland Møller; Yorick van Wageningen; Eve Hewson
- Genres
- biographical; crime; drama
- Themes
- friendship; survival; freedom
- Tone and mood
- dramatic; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- prison escape; biographical; adventure
- Source material / true-story basis
- Papillon and Banco by Henri Charrière; Papillon by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr.
- Reception
- The film received mixed or average reviews, with a 52% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 51 out of 100 score on Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 52% · scale: percentage · review count: 111; Metacritic · score: 51 · scale: 100 · review count: 31
- Production trivia
- It was the last film produced by Red Granite Pictures before the company closed in 2018.; The film was shot in locations including Montenegro, Malta, and Belgrade, Serbia.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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