La lengua de las mariposas (Butterfly)

Moncho

Moncho and Gregorio

La lengua de las mariposas (Butterfly) is a film set in Galicia, Spain in 1936. It follows a boy named Moncho who moves to a new town. He is befriended and mentored by his teacher Don Gregorio. Don Gregorio is a kind-hearted man who has genuine interest for his students. Spain is very politically charged at this time and is on the brink of civil war. It is a dispute between the Republicans (loyalists) and the Nationalists (rebels, fascists).

The historical context sets the stage for what happens in the movie. Spain has just established a new republic after the military dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. Spain is very politically charged at this time and is on the brink of civil war. It is a dispute between the Republicans (loyalists) and the Nationalists (rebels). The new republic, among many things, gave women the right to vote, and also  began to lessen the power of the Catholic church in the government. Nationalists stage another military coup which takes control of the most of the country. The Spanish Civil War lasted until 1939, where the Nationalists eventually won. Spain began to be ruled under the new military dictatorship of Francisco Franco from 1939-1975.

Initially intriguing is the name of the film. Although "Butterfly" is the American title "la lengua de las mariposas" actually translates to "the tongue of the butterflies". In the movie, Don Gregorio explains to Moncho that a butterfly's long tongue is used much like a straw to suck nectar out of flowers. FYI this really exists. Here's a butterfly using its tongue on a guy's arm.

But it's the symbolism of the butterfly that is most intriguing. The lesson is that just as a butterfly has to reach deep into a flower to extract the sweet nectar, so too the Spanish people have to search deep to find the goodness amidst the turmoil.

Their family is representative of the country as a whole. The mother is devout Catholic and sympathizes with the rebels. The father is a Republican, who has become close to  Don Gregorio, a fellow Republican. The last part of the movie really sums up the feelings of all parties:

• Don Gregorio is captured by fascists, along with other Republicans. He is the face of innocence, being condemned for his beliefs. 
• Moncho's father shouts insults to the Republicans in his cowardice because he doesn't want to get turned in.
• Moncho's mother is the first to yell insults. She yells "Ateo!", which means atheist. She yells in part to protect her family from scrutiny and mostly because she really believes what she's saying.
• Moncho duplicates what everyone else is yelling, but as he throws his last rock, he yells a word that Don Gregorio had taught him, in apparent hopes that he would hear it and know that they were still friends. 

El Baño del Papa (The Pope's Toilet)

El Baño del Papa (The Pope's Toilet) is a Uruguayan film based on true events when Pope John Paul II plans a visit to the small town of Melo, Uruguay. The movie follows Beto, a bicyclist who smuggles contraband across the Brazil-Uruguay border, Carmen, his wife, and Silvia, their daughter. With the Pope's visit just weeks away, people decide to take advantage of the hoards of people that are supposed to visit by selling things. Beto has a brilliant idea that he's going to make a bathroom and charge people to use it.

Three different themes are highly present in the film:

• Morality and Religion
• The media's role in distributing information
• Economy

Morality and Religion

Carmen is the most religious of the family. She crosses herself when she passes in front of the church, She prays to the Virgin to protect her family. When her daughter Silvia hears on the radio that the Pope might come, she's asks Carmen if she thinks he'll really come. She says, "Si Dios quiere". This is a phrase that means "If God wants". This becomes an overarching theme of the movie: The Pope's coming is going to do good to the people, because that's what "God wants". She even asks her neighbor if taking advantage of the Pope's coming by selling is morally wrong because, "It seems that God punishes for those sorts of things."

Beto is much less religious. He could care less about the Pope coming. The day before he comes, he asks his wife, "And what time is this guy coming anyway?" She says, "You mean His Holiness?" He responds offhandedly, "Yes, yes, His Holiness." He's most interested in making money off the people coming to see the Pope. He wants a motorcycle, concrete all around his patio, and a chicken coop. Beto is a dreamer. We see this in a segment when he is riding his bicycle and his daydream turns it into a motorcycle.

Beto also questions the morality of his being a smuggler. Does it make him a bad person if he's trying to provide for his family? In order to make enough money for the toilet, he makes a deal with the border patrol. He knows that this isn't right, but he does it in order to make enough money. In short, Beto will justify anything if it means getting him the money that he needs. He does come to his senses at the end though and rejects the border patrol's money even when he earned it.

Silvia is also less religious than her mother. When they pass a church, she doesn't cross herself stating, "She'd already done it that morning." She is most interested in leaving Melo to have a better life as a reporter.

The media's role in distributing information

Throughout the film, there are several instances that show the news giving updates on the Pope's arrival or people's preparations for the Pope. The media constantly exaggerates the number of people who are coming. In a certain segment, a newscaster is surrounded my a group of people. He asks each of them how many people they are expecting and what they'll be selling to the crowd. Each person gives a different estimate, each more outrageous than the next: 40,000...50,000...90,000...200,000. When a man says that he thinks that there won't be that many people, the camera quickly turns away from him. 

The extreme exaggerations perpetuated by the media cause people to use all of their savings and resources in order to buy food to prepare.

On the day of the Pope's arrival, the news continues to give hope by saying, "We're pleased to report a line of buses 10 kilometers long making its way into Melo."

It was all false hope. At the end of the movie it reports that about 8,000 people were actually there, mostly from Melo. 400 Brazilians and 300 journalists came. 387 food stands were set up. The most striking images of the movie came in the aftermath of the Pope's visit, when people have too much leftover food.

An associated press article reporting the events of the day, actually reports there being 50,000 people. This further emphasizes the obscurity of the reports. 

Economy

The biggest question in regards to the economy is: Is it possible for anyone in such poverty to leave that lifestyle?

Silvia wants to be a reporter. She practices fake news reports at night when her parents are sleeping. Her mom works at home and is saving for Silvia's tuition. The program she wants to take is in Montevideo and it lasts 2 years. Beto wants her to start helping him smuggle goods across the border. Carmen wants her to go to stay home and go to sewing school. Both her parents have settled on the idea that she will remain poor just like them.

The movie gives the impression that that will probably be the case. Silvia is clearly saving money for her daughter's future, but she gives it all to Beto so that he can buy the toilet. Near the end of the film,  after they've realized all that they've lost, Beto leaves the house to find work and Silvia runs to catch up with him.

The film doesn't end so pessimistically. The final scene shows Beto entering his bathroom. He yells, "Carmen, I have an idea." This softens the harshness of their loss and sends the message that despite their poverty, they'll be all right.