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The Hand of the Butterfly
The Hand of the Butterfly
7.4
/10
40 Ratings

THE HAND OF THE BUTTERFLY

La main du papillon

Directed by Emmanuelle Demoris
France, 2010
Documentary

Synopsis

In Mafrouza, two events shape the early winter. With tensions, joy, and festivities, a baby boy is born. At the same time, a young woman is getting engaged. Faced with a collective agitation shaking the neighborhood’s families, everyone searches for their place in the world surrounding them.

Synopsis

In Mafrouza, two events shape the early winter. With tensions, joy, and festivities, a baby boy is born. At the same time, a young woman is getting engaged. Faced with a collective agitation shaking the neighborhood’s families, everyone searches for their place in the world surrounding them.

Our take

This fourth film in the Mafrouza cycle is the most structurally self-contained and formally adventurous. Hassan moves to the fringes of the story, his songs serving as a kind of chorus, as the women of the town take the spotlight, the birth of a baby boy inciting an acute inquiry into gender roles.