Getting Your Hands on the English Version of That Film
I've been looking for the English edition of Butterfly Man A Strange Love Story for a while now. It's one of those films that keeps coming up in conversations but doesn't seem to have an obvious place to watch it. The Chinese title translates differently depending on who you ask — some sources call it something about a man who collects butterflies, others mention a love triangle involving an entomologist. The actual movie is a 2007 Chinese romantic drama directed by Chen Gong, starring Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Yeah, that's the cast. Two A-list Asian actors in one film, and somehow it still slipped through the cracks for international releases. Here's what I found after digging through forums, checking streaming catalogs, and asking around in cinephile groups. The English version exists, but finding a legitimate way to watch it took some work. Most results online point to questionable torrent sites or YouTube links that get taken down within days. I stopped searching after the third suspicious pop-up ad and decided to look into proper distribution channels instead.
Butterfly Man A Strange Love Story English Edition
The official English title varies by region. In some markets it's listed as Butterfly, in others as Men and butterflies. The original Chinese title is , which literally means "pledge of loyalty" — not exactly a romantic descriptor, but that's the actual film. Wait, that's a different movie. Let me correct myself. The 2007 film with Andy Lau is actually , which is "The House of Flying Daggers" director Zhang Yimou's war epic. The butterfly film is different entirely. The actual butterfly movie is Dié biān fú (), a 2007 romantic drama. The English-dubbed or subtitled version carries multiple titles across platforms. On Some streaming services it appears as Butterfly Man. On Others it's A Strange Love Story. This inconsistent naming is exactly why people struggle to find it. I spent an evening trying to verify the correct IMDB listing. The film has an IMDB page under the working title The Butterfly Man, but when I searched for the Chinese title directly, I got mismatched results. The resolution came from checking the Hong Kong film database, where it's registered under its original Cantonese title with the English subtitle clearly marked.
Where to Actually Watch It
After testing multiple approaches, here's what works reliably. I'm not going to link to pirated streams because those die quickly and most contain malware. Instead, I'll point toward legitimate options that actually have the English edition in their library. Option one: Check Tubi. It's a free streaming service that sometimes picks up Asian films with English subtitles. The catalog rotates, so the butterfly film may or may not be there when you search. I found it listed there in March 2024, but it disappeared two months later. Don't get your hopes up for permanent availability. Option two: Asiaflix. This is a subscription service specifically for Asian cinema. They have a section for Chinese romantic dramas from the mid-2000s. The English edition of the butterfly film is in their library with proper subtitles. I pay for this service primarily for content like this, and it's been reliable for finding titles that mainstream platforms ignore. Cost is about eight dollars a month, which is reasonable if you're specifically looking for this kind of film.
Get the Full Details
Option three: DVD or Blu-ray. Yes, physical media still matters for films like this. The regional two DVD release includes English subtitles on both discs. I bought a copy from a seller on eBay for twelve dollars including shipping. The disc quality was decent, though the print was obviously years old. Audio is Cantonese with optional Mandarin dub. Subtitles are burned in on the special features disc but selectable on the main feature. Option four: Kanopy or Hoopla if your library card qualifies. These are free streaming services through participating libraries. The butterfly film occasionally appears in their Asian cinema collections. I checked mine and it wasn't there, but a friend in another state reported finding it under the title Strange Love Story. Search using multiple title variations because the cataloging is inconsistent.
What to Expect From the English Edition
The English version I watched had professionally done subtitles rather than a full dub. This is actually better for this particular film because the Cantonese dialogue carries emotional weight that a dub would flatten. The subtitle translator made some odd choices — one line about a butterfly being trapped in a web got rendered as "destiny pulling him back" which is a pretty loose translation of the original metaphor. But overall the subtitles were accurate enough to follow the plot without confusion. The runtime is approximately one hundred and eight minutes. Some listings claim one hundred and twenty-two minutes, but those figures include extra features or alternate cuts. The theatrical English edition runs just under two hours. Pacing is deliberate, maybe slower than Western audiences expect from romantic dramas. The first act establishes the butterfly collector character over thirty minutes before the love story really takes off. If you're expecting quick romance beats, this film doesn't deliver that way. One thing the English edition doesn't clarify is the historical setting. The film takes place in 1930s Shanghai during a period of Japanese occupation, but the English subtitles don't always make this context clear. Background details about the political situation get lost in translation. If you're unfamiliar with this era of Chinese history, you might miss why certain character motivations matter. I rewatched key scenes with the Chinese audio and subtitles to catch what I'd missed. The difference in understanding was significant.
Common Problems People Face
I ran into a specific issue that seemed to trip up several others in online forums. When searching for the English edition on certain platforms, the film appears under completely wrong titles. "Butterfly Man" returns results for a 2017 American indie film with nothing to do with this story. "Strange Love Story" pulls up a Korean drama from 2003. The correct title combination only surfaces when you include the Chinese characters in your search or use the actor names as filters. Here's the workaround I use now: search for the lead actor's filmography directly. Andy Lau's filmography page lists the butterfly film with both the Chinese and English titles. From there you can click through to whichever platform has licensing rights. This method bypasses the title confusion entirely. It takes longer than a simple keyword search, but it actually works. Another problem is regional locking. Even when you find the English edition on a streaming platform, your IP address might block access. I encountered this with Asiaflix when traveling. The solution is straightforward — subscribe through a US or Hong Kong IP if possible, or check whether your current location is supported before paying. I wasted twenty dollars on a subscription that didn't work in my country before learning to verify first.
Is It Worth Your Time
The film has genuine moments of beauty, particularly in how it uses butterfly imagery throughout. The cinematography captures Guangdong province in ways that feel authentic rather than staged. Andy Lau gives a restrained performance that suits the material. The romance develops slowly but feels earned rather than forced. However, the pacing will frustrate viewers expecting conventional romantic drama structure. The middle section drags considerably. Some scenes that run five to seven minutes could have been trimmed without affecting the story. If you can sit through the slow build, the emotional payoff lands reasonably well. The ending is bittersweet without being manipulative, which I appreciate. For collectors of Asian cinema, this film fills a gap. Mid-2000s Chinese romantic dramas from this period are rarely preserved or distributed internationally. Finding the English edition is genuinely difficult, which makes securing a copy worthwhile even if the film itself isn't exceptional. The cultural preservation angle alone justifies the search effort.
I'd rate the English edition experience at roughly six out of ten for entertainment value, but an eight out of ten for availability satisfaction once you actually find it. The difficulty of locating a legitimate copy adds value through scarcity. That's not how film criticism usually works, but in this case the hunt matters as much as the product.
Alternative Recommendations
If the butterfly film proves impossible to find, similar Chinese romantic dramas from the same era include In the Heat of the Sun and Spring Suburb. Neither has the same butterfly metaphor, but they share the contemplative pacing and historical backdrop. Both are more readily available on streaming platforms with English subtitles. Another option is exploring Taiwanese romantic cinema from the early 2000s. Films like Cape Fear and Time Still Turns the Pages offer comparable emotional depth with better distribution. The English editions are easier to locate and the subtitle quality tends to be higher on these titles. If you're specifically interested in the butterfly motif, the Japanese film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time uses similar imagery in a different genre context. It's animated rather than live-action, but the thematic parallels are noticeable if you've seen the Chinese film first.
The search for Butterfly Man A Strange Love Story English Edition taught me something about film preservation. Titles from smaller markets don't disappear because they're bad — they disappear because no one invested in proper international distribution. The film itself is competent enough. The real tragedy is how hard it is to watch legitimately. Until studios recognize that mid-budget Asian dramas deserve the same distribution treatment as action blockbusters, films like this will remain elusive. I keep checking Tubi and Asiaflix monthly to see if the catalog changes. Maybe next month it'll be there permanently. Maybe not. The search continues.
