“Irresistibly charming.”
—Onitsuka Daisuke

“An ambitious and stylish work that warrants attention.”
—Midnight Eye

“Violent, sexy, propulsive, and young, SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY is smart about identity, ethnicity, and the way money makes families, then breaks them.”
—Film Comment

In a near-future Japan where millions of immigrants hustle to survive for the yen, a pop star swipes a Yakuza money scam and opens a record store. Shunji Iwai’s handheld camera takes on identity and the almighty yen as it moves fast to Takeshi Kobayashi’s kinetic J-Pop beat.