Theodore Schaefer’s debut feature Giving Birth to a Butterfly takes an artful approach when it comes to the classic American trope of shedding one’s limiting preconceived notions and reclaiming a new sense of self–much like how a monarch emerges from its cocoon as a completely changed animal. In a cinematically surreal story of identity, two women from very different backgrounds embark on a road trip that ends up sending one down the road less traveled and ends up changing her life forever.
Diana (Annie Parisse) is getting the bare minimum of enjoyment out of daily life. As the mother of two kids, she is responsible for a lot of the housework and continuously gets affected when her husband (Paul Sparks), overly optimistic to a fault, unintentionally steamrolls her and her feelings. The night their son returns home with his pregnant girlfriend, Marlene (Gus Birney), Diana is at her breaking point–only to be pushed over the edge when she discovers that she’s been the target of identity theft and her bank account is wiped clean.
Determined to track down the thieves, Diana convinces a heavily pregnant Marlene to come with her on this revenge road trip. The objective may have initially been to confront the criminals but by the time the duo reach their destination and discover whose doorstep they’ve landed on, their initial plans go out the window, and instead, they start a new, unexpected journey towards enlightenment. By the end of the film, only one woman has given birth; not to a human, but to a belief.
Schaefer, the executive producer of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, gives the film a pastel-toned hue, perhaps to signify a type of “rose-colored glasses” from our protagonist. The decision to shoot on 16mm film with intimate framing forces the audience to have a sort of tunnel vision perspective, at times it can feel claustrophobic but given the small scope of the production, this choice makes sense. A bit soap opera-esque at times, Giving Birth to a Butterfly has a solid nugget of wisdom buried within but unfortunately, that can get lost amongst its various filters and seemingly unnecessary stylistic choices.
This review originally ran on August 24, 2021, during Fantasia Fest.
Distributed by Cinedigm. Now streaming on Fandor, the company’s indie discovery platform, and VOD.
