Warning: spoilers

Butterfly, the opening movie at this year's Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, is something of a rare species: a lesbian movie with some box office success (it racked up $350,000 in its first 15 days in theaters in Hong Kong). It has also generated nominations for both its female leads, Josie Ho and Tian Yuen, in Taiwan’s equivalent of the Oscars, the Golden Horse Awards. Directed by Yan Yan Mak, Butterfly (Hudie) is based on the story Mark of a Butterfly. Set in present day Hong Kong, Josie Ho plays Flavia (which means "butterfly" in Chinese), a married high school teacher in her early 30s with a year-old daughter whose life is turned upside down when she meets twenty-something musician Yip (Tian Yuen) in a supermarket.

This is not Flavia's first lesbian relationship, as we learn through flashbacks of Flavia and her high school classmate Jin (Stephanie Che), who fell in love against the back-drop of the Tiananmen Square incident. But Jin's increasing political activism, and the emotional demands of Flavia’s depressed mother began to drive them apart after a few years, and finally ended when Flavia’s mom caught them in bed together, after which Flavia dated men, got married, and gave birth to her daughter. Jin disappeared for a few years and, upon her return, she became a monk, for which Flavia blamed herself.

Flavia and Yip’s burgeoning relationship resurrects all the lesbian feelings Flavia has tried to repress over the years. Yip is quite the opposite of Flavia: open, carefree, with no burdens, Yip is straightforward in expressing her affections for Flavia. It's not hard to see why Flavia is drawn towards Yip: Yip sees a side of Flavia that no one else does. Their first kiss is delicious, and the sex scenes, although tame for western standards, are seductive and raw.

Flavia’s journey towards coming out is difficult, and Mak goes to great lengths to outline the issues Flavia faces: she's married, her parents disapprove of homosexuality, and she lives in a society where homosexuality is still taboo and unacceptable (illustrated via the subplot of two of Flavia’s female students being outed and one of the girls being sent away to Canada). She also feels guilty--about Jin, her parents, and most of all, about denying her own feelings--so she washes her hands constantly. The scene where she comes out to her husband is palpably painful, and Eric Kot’s exceptional performance deserves special mention. As we root for Flavia, we also feel the the husband's hurt.

The film's primary flaw is its constant flashbacks. Although the flashbacks are integral in establishing Flavia’s burdens, there are just too many of them and it's confusing. Some parts of the flashback are also told using an 8mm camera in an effort to make it more personal, but this lowers the quality of the movie.

Butterfly also suffers from its own ambition, trying too hard to tackle too many issues (the original cut is three hours long). The subplot of Flavia’s two high school students, for example, is a good example of the society’s repudiation of homosexuality, but it's one too many toppings on my frozen yogurt.

Overall, however, Butterfly is an uplifiting film for lesbians: no one dies, and Flavia eventually follows her heart and becomes the butterfly. This is ultimately a film about obtaining personal emotional freedom, and director Mak does not shy away from making that point. The celebrity status of Josie Ho, who has taken on numerous “risky” roles throughout her career, helps the film's visibility, and the acting is convincing all around. Tian Yuen, for a newcomer, also delivers an above par performance.

In a year filled with frivolous lesbian kisses for publicity and rating purposes, Butterfly is a welcome change, and a milestone for Asian lesbian filmmaking.

Butterfly screens at Outfest in L.A. on July 10 and 17, 2005