LA CHASSE AUX PAPILLONS

Otar Iosseliani’s whimsical comedy of social decline in contemporary France follows the peculiar activities of two elderly ladies, Marie-Agnès de Bayonnette and her cousin Solange, and their eccentric neighbors in a small village drenched in old world charm. Isolated from the modern world, the villagers nostalgically maintain their aristocratic life of leisure and luxury, quarreling over property boundaries and counting their assets before blindfolded guards. The unexpected death of a wealthy landowner provides the perfect opportunity for progress to sneak in, as eager relatives, antique traders, and greedy realtors can't wait to profit from the valuable estate.