Butterfly (original title: La lengua de las mariposas) is a Spanish film of 1999. It describes the friendship between a boy (Manuel Lozano) and his teacher, Don Gregorio (Fernando Fernán Gómez).
Moncho is a shy gentle boy who is frightened by the school experience, because of its strict discipline and hard-line teachers. There he meets Don Gregorio, a teacher who has liberal ideas. Don Gregorio teaches him the passion for knowledge and the republican values of freedom and tolerance. He helps and leads Moncho in his personal growth and they develops a close relationship.
The story takes place during the Spanish Civil War and Don Gregorio is soon accused of being against the fascist government. The war destroys their friendship and the epilogue is cruel and dramatic.
Even if there are lots of films about the Spanish Civil War, this is the only one told from a young boy’s perspective. It’s an excellent, tragic and moving film and the script is based on La lengua de las mariposas, one of the three stories of ¿Que me quieres, amor? by Manuel Rivas. The film was awarded with the Goya Award as the Best Adapted Script.