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he sings
Sinatra's "My Way" before succumbing to his fatal injuries. Ageha, Glico, and Ran hold a makeshift memorial service for Fei Hong where they burn all the money they had acquired. Ran fires off a gun salute. Mob boss Ryo Ranki plans his next move on a car ride before coincidentally re-encountering Ageha, whom he saved earlier in the film when she almost overdosed on heroin. Ageha is able to properly thank him now, and casually gifts him the cassette tape with "My Way" on it that, unbeknownst to Ageha, he had been searching for this whole time. Ryo asks her for her name, which she tells him was given to her by the now-famous Glico. Ryo stands there, stunned, as he was the one who gave Glico her name when they grew up together.
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The climax of the film sees Glico chased by the mob for the location of their prized cassette tape before Ran saves her, killing them all. Simultaneously, Fei Hong is brought in by the authorities after being caught with counterfeit bills, and is brutally beaten while being interrogated. In his cell,
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Eventually, due to a sudden twist of fate involving the discovery of a rare cassette tape (containing Frank
Sinatra's "My Way") that the mob is after, as well as a counterfeit money scheme strategy, the immigrants are given a chance to realize their various dreams. But in doing so, they impair their
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The immigrant characters, who speak
Japanese, English, Mandarin, or Cantonese, earn their living by committing petty crimes and/or engaging in prostitution. Ageha does not participate in many of these activities, but is protected by Glico and the other immigrants, including the Chinese auto mechanic
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The film adopts a free-flowing structure, combining many slice-of-life narrative elements with tense, thriller components spliced in between. It covers the journey of Ageha and her other immigrant companions as they bond, try to survive in the cruel underworld that is
Yentown, establish their very
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scammer Fei Hong (Hiroshi Mikami), American ex-boxer Arrow (Shiek Mahmud-Bey), and the mysterious broker Ran (Atsuro Watabe). The film does not clarify Ageha's full background, though she does tell a man in the film that she is originally from Japan.
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The story centers around a sixteen-year-old girl (Ayumi Ito) whose mother has just died. The girl is passed on from person to person until she is taken in by a
Chinese Yentown
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Yomota, Inuhiko (2003). "Stranger Than Tokyo: Space and Race in
Postnational Japanese Cinema". In Jenny Kwok Wah Lau (ed.).
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and other visual techniques. It covers a wide array of themes and genres, from social realism to coming-of-age to crime.
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own music club, revel in fame and money, encounter the mob, and, above all, find a true identity for themselves.
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Swallowtail
Butterfly was also nominated for but did not win the following awards:
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The film is set in Tokyo at an unspecified point in the near future when the
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has become the strongest currency in the world. This attracts an influx of
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Multiple
Modernities: Cinemas and Popular Media in Transcultural East Asia
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1997 Japanese
Academy Awards - Best Cinematography (Noboru Shinoda)
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1997 Japanese
Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actress (Ayumi Ito)
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solidarity, and have to face most of their problems separately.
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The Kids Who Wanted to View Fireworks from Another Perspective
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Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?
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named Glico (Chara), who names her Ageha (Japanese for
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The Flash of Capital: Film and Geopolitics in Japan
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1997 Japanese Academy Awards - Best Art Direction (
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1997 Japanese Academy Awards - Best Actress (Chara)
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650:"20th Moscow International Film Festival (1997)"
512:1997 Japanese Academy Awards - Most Popular Film
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543:1997 Japanese Academy Awards - Best Lighting (
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628:. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
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540:1997 Japanese Academy Awards - Best Film
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1165:Films produced by Kazutoshi Wadakura
509:- Newcomer of the Year (Ayumi Ito)
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1200:Films scored by Takeshi Kobayashi
586:. Durham: Duke University Press.
336:Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)
330:A theme song for the film under
304:written, directed and edited by
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1180:1990s Mandarin-language films
1175:1990s Japanese-language films
1160:Films directed by Shunji Iwai
1205:English-language crime films
1190:1990s English-language films
930:The Case of Hana & Alice
212:September 14, 1996
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940:A Bride for Rip Van Winkle
1068:Moon Riders: Knit Cap Man
564:- Golden St. George Award
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44:Theatrical release poster
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880:All About Lily Chou-Chou
747:The Man Who Came to Kill
1155:Films about immigration
781:A Summer Solstice Story
517:Fant-Asia Film Festival
507:Japanese Academy Awards
1038:The Kon Ichikawa Story
860:Swallowtail Butterfly
582:Cazdyn, Eric (2002).
258:Swallowtail Butterfly
33:Swallowtail Butterfly
1195:1990s Japanese films
1170:Japanese crime films
910:New York, I Love You
562:Moscow Film Festival
342:on October 7, 1996.
340:Oricon Singles Chart
300:is a 1996 Japanese
495:as Customer in club
1048:Friends After 3.11
773:A Tin of Crab Meat
126:Kazutoshi Wadakura
18:Swallowtail (film)
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1119:Takeshi Kobayashi
807:Fried Dragon Fish
519:- Best Asian Film
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188:Takeshi Kobayashi
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16:(Redirected from
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660:on 2013-03-22
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831:Lunatic Love
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662:. Retrieved
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532:Yohei Taneda
522:
459:as Ryo Ranki
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352:Japanese yen
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228:Running time
205:Release date
131:Hiroko Maeda
129:Osamu Kubota
123:Shinya Kawai
59:
1108:Takao Osawa
960:Last Letter
950:Last Letter
870:April Story
840:Love Letter
724:Shunji Iwai
683:Swallowtail
489:as Suzukino
487:Kaori Momoi
481:Nene Otsuka
477:as Shen Mei
441:as Fei Hong
410:swallowtail
382:Yen Thieves
308:, starring
306:Shunji Iwai
293:Swallowtail
278:Suwarōteiru
232:148 minutes
179:Shunji Iwai
120:Produced by
115:Shunji Iwai
106:Shunji Iwai
102:Directed by
89:Suwarōteiru
1140:1996 films
1134:Categories
833:(1994, TV)
817:(1993, TV)
809:(1993, TV)
791:(1992, TV)
783:(1992, TV)
775:(1992, TV)
767:(1992, TV)
759:(1992, TV)
756:Ghost Soup
749:(1991, TV)
741:(1991, TV)
664:2013-03-22
569:References
405:prostitute
356:immigrants
334:, titled "
302:crime film
216:1996-09-14
112:Written by
27:1996 film
1101:Ayumi Ito
890:Jam Films
465:as Mao Fu
451:Ayumi Ito
325:jump cuts
318:Ayumi Ito
176:Edited by
148:Ayumi Ito
982:Producer
789:Omelette
731:Director
483:as Reiko
463:Andy Hui
453:as Ageha
447:as Glico
361:Yen Town
264:Japanese
249:Mandarin
241:Japanese
237:Language
184:Music by
156:Andy Hui
136:Starring
1001:Bandage
920:Vampire
287:
272:Hepburn
268:スワロウテイル
245:English
214: (
68:スワロウテイル
1087:Yū Aoi
1070:(1998)
1051:(2011)
1041:(2006)
1031:(2002)
1023:(1999)
1004:(2010)
994:(2006)
973:(2023)
963:(2020)
953:(2018)
943:(2016)
933:(2015)
923:(2011)
913:(2008)
903:(2004)
893:(2002)
883:(2001)
873:(1997)
863:(1996)
853:(1996)
850:Picnic
843:(1995)
825:(1994)
801:(1995)
632:
590:
500:Awards
471:as Ran
395:en tou
316:, and
970:Kyrie
765:Maria
560:1997
515:1998
505:1997
445:Chara
374:en to
314:Chara
144:Chara
61:Kanji
823:Undo
688:IMDb
654:MIFF
630:ISBN
588:ISBN
433:Cast
346:Plot
284:lit.
686:at
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616:^
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389:円盗
371:,
368:円都
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