Butterfly Smile is a compelling exercise in suspense from He Jianjun, a director known for delving into the more disturbing realms of human psychology (his 1995 feature Postman, about a mailman who starts opening the letters he is supposed to deliver, was banned by Chinese authorities for its frank depiction of sex, drugs, and moral degradation). Like its most obvious predecessor, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, Butterfly Smile features a camera-wielding voyeur who sees more than he should. It begins with a nighttime car accident involving the beautiful fashion model and clothing designer Meng Xing (Tiang Wei), who flees the scene. The only witness is Kang Peng (Ge You). Convinced that he has to make her admit what she did to the police, but compromised himself because he was spying on her at the time, he begins making anonymous calls to her telling her he knows what she's done. Meanwhile, through flashbacks, it becomes apparent that Kang's obsession with Meng is leading him straight into a setup thanks to the mysterious Lei Ming (Sun Chen). Jianjun is more than competent at ratcheting up the suspense. Although his film follows a fairly standard plot, it has an air of quiet menace that comes through most effectively in the many night scenes, which use the contrast of brightly lit windows and darkened city streets to emphasize the film's increasingly chilling voyeurism.
by Tom Vick
review
