AllMovie

This Japanese allegory comments upon societal values in modern urban Asia. It begins as a small boy catches a rare butterfly and races to bring it to his beloved teacher. Unfortunately, the teacher accuses him of lying because that species does not occur in their area. The crushed child, not wanting to be branded a liar, kills the lovely creature. Suddenly the world is seen from the butterfly's view and the route by which it came to the boy's area is traced as it migrated from southern to northern Japan through some of the country's largest, most troubled cities.