The Last Butterfly

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The Last Butterfly ★★ 1992

Quiet Holocaust movie set in Theresien-stadt, the Czechoslovak ghetto city used by the Nazis to persuade the outside world of their humane treatment of the Jews. Noted French mime Antoine Moreau (Courtenay) has fallen under suspicion by the Gestapo. He's “persuaded” to give a performance in Theresienstadt for the benefit of the visiting Red Cross but decides to subvert Nazi propaganda with his own version of “Hansel and Gretel.” This time the witch feeds the children into her oven. Muted performances and screenplay (adapted from the Michael Jacot novel) heightened the film's surreal calmness. 106m/C VHS, DVD . CZ Tom Courtenay, Brigitte Fossey, Freddie Jones, Ingrid Held, Linda Jablonska; D: Karel Kachyna; W: Karel Kachyna, Ota Hofman; M: Alex North.

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