case where style had trumped substance. In particular the film's labyrinthine and difficult to follow plot was pointed to as a major point of complaint. One such review by Sean Axmaker of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer called the film "lush but confusing", and states "Purple Butterfly is rich with emotional turmoil and searing beauty, but it could have used a little more time in the editing room to make sense of it all." References External links Purple Butterfly at MonkeyPeaches Purple Butterfly at HelloZiyi.us 2003 films Chinese war drama films Second Sino-Japanese War films Chinese neo-noir films 2000s Mandarin-language films 2000s Japanese-language films Films set in Shanghai Films directed by Lou Ye Films set in Manchukuo Japan in non-Japanese culture