The Butterfly Murders is a 1979 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Tsui Hark. The film was Tsui's directorial debut.[1] It has elements of history and a murder mystery. The film is considered to be a notable work of the Hong Kong New Wave film movement.[2]
Plot
The film was narrated from the point of view of the protagonist, Fang Hongye, on a series of murders at the Shen's Family Fort. Fang begins as an outsider invited to investigate, but soon becomes intricately involved in the case. The story unfolds through his dual perspective as both participant and observer.
The story began by introducing the "Hongye's Notebook", a hand-written notebook that documents peculiar events of the martial arts world, known as Jianghu. Eight pages of the notebook (which later revealed in the story as forgeries) describes a mysterious 'killer butterfly' incident at the Shen's Family Fort. The deaths, including that of the previous fort owner implicated in a tomb robbery, are linked to these butterflies. Decades later, another tomb raider dies in a similar manner, prompting the current fort owner, Shen Qing, to invite Hongye, Tian Feng of the "Seventy-two Smokes" gang, and Qing Yingzi for an investigation. Their arrival triggers more butterfly-related murders, and the situation escalates when Shen Qing himself falls victim to the killer butterflies, causing widespread alarm and urgency to resolve the murders. Shen Qing's wife, however, insists on waiting for the arrival of three brothers, known as the 'Four Phases of Heavenly Thunder,' before taking any action.
A mute servant girl Ah-Zhi leads Hongye to a secret gunpowder storage room, raising suspicions. The arrival of the three brothers coincides with Mrs. Shen's mysterious death by an iron-clad figure, later revealed to be Shen Qing himself, who is also Yu Zhen, the deceased fourth brother of the 'Four Phases.'
It was revealed that six years earlier, Yu Zhen established the Shen's Family Fort to secretly develop an alloy for gun barrels of powerful weapons. After completing the weapon, Yu Zhen orchestrated the butterfly murders (and forged the eight pages of "Hongye's Notebook" mentioned in the beginning of the story) to eliminate rivals and claim dominance in the martial arts world, manipulating Tian Feng to assist him unwittingly.
After Hongye solves the case, he leaves the fort, where Yu Zhen and Tian Feng, along with others, perish in a final battle, destroying the fort and the weapon.
