TJE 7/12 – Papillon (1973)

Franklin J. Schaffner is one of those directors that nobody ever remembers, and quite unfairly. After watching "The Boys From Brazil," I went poking around in his list of credits and was astonished to discover that this was the man who had directed "Planet of the Apes" and "Patton," one right after the other. He had also directed "Papillon," one of those films that I kept meaning to watch for a long time, because it had Dustin Hoffman in it, and one of the last screenplays by the great Dalton Trumbo.

In 1930s France, Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), nicknamed "Papillon" for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, is wrongly convicted of murdering a pimp, and shipped off to a penal colony on Devil's Island, off the coast of French Guiana. The prison is notoriously brutal, and most of the other prisoners are resigned to never seeing France again. Papillon has other ideas. He becomes the bodyguard of a forger, a weaker, bookish man named Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), so that Dega will fund his escape. However, after being subjected to hard labor, terrible conditions, and worse treatment by the guards together, the two become friends. "Papillon" charts the long years of their lives spent on Devil's Island, seeing them through botched escape attempts, stints in solitary confinement, starvation, sickness, and worse.

"Papillon" was based on the memoirs of the real Henri Charrière, and it almost seems like a spoiler to know even that much, because this is one of those prison movies that is so harsh and so unrelenting, it's not clear whether or not our heroes are going to be alive at the end of it, let alone in any sort of condition to be writing memoirs. Prisoners die left and right from illness, exhaustion, malnutrition, and brutal treatment. It's the little details that sell it, the way the prisoners are hosed down on the transport ship, or the method of dispensing haircuts to the men in solitary confinement. Despite so much of "Papillon" dealing with incarceration, the story is sprawling and epic. Papillon's escape attempts lead to encounters with bounty hunters, a leper colony, and friendly natives. We see glimpses of other colonists, mostly military men and adventurers. Though not filmed in South America, the tropical Jamaican locations are a good stand-in, especially when aided by the sweeping cinematography of Fred J. Koenekamp.

I was more interested in the performance of Dustin Hoffman going into the film, because he's been one of my favorite actors for as long as I can remember, but it was Steve McQueen who really sold the picture. "Papillon" is pretty much two-and-a-half hours of watching this man being broken down by an incredibly cruel system of authority. Unlike in "The Great Escape," the damage goes deep and there's no way he's going to bounce back so easily. Particularly harrowing are the solitary confinement scenes, where there's nothing left to fight or outsmart, and Papillon must simply endure the insidious ravages of time, silence, and isolation. McQueen was known for being an icon of cool, which works well to establish him as the strong-willed hero who will never stop trying to escape, but it's when he's really tested and really suffering that he's at his most arresting. Because of the demands of the script, I don't think he has the chance to get really deep into the character, as Paul Newman did with Cool Hand Luke, but it's still one hell of a performance.

And then there's Dustin Hoffman as Dega, a little man with big, thick glasses who has absolutely no intention of escaping, believing that his best chance off of Devil's Island is through appeals going through the courts back home. He's our everyman to Papillon's rugged action hero, the one who gets injured easily and always looks awkwardly out of place in the jungle, but pulls his weight nonetheless. Hoffman's not pushing any boundaries here, playing a variation of the nebbish with hidden strength we'd already seen in films like "Straw Dogs," but he gives Dega such humanity and appeal, he's really invaluable to the film. "Papillon" easily could have been told from his point of view, and it might have been a more interesting film if it was.

"Papillon" recalls all those inspirational 60s war films about brave men overcoming impossible adversity. However, it's a little too simple and straightforward to match up to the real greats of the genre. Papillon is a terribly admirable individual, but we never do find out much about him. However, the gorgeous scenery, which Schaffner practically manages to turn into the film's third lead, is a treat for the eyes. The performances of McQueen and Hoffman are excellent, and actors have a great rapport with each other. The film may not be great, but it's still exciting, engaging, and frequently moving.

I'm not sorry I put off watching "Papillon," but I'm glad that I finally did see it.
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