'' Purple Butterfly '' ( ) is a 2003 Chinese film , directed by Lou Ye . It is Lou 's third film after '' Weekend Lover '' and '' Suzhou River '' . It stars Chinese mainland actors , Zhang Ziyi , Liu Ye and Li Bingbing , as well as Japanese actor '' Tôru Nakamura '' . The film premiered on May 23 , 2003 , at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival , and was given a limited release in New York City the following year on November 26 , 2004
2003 Cannes Film Festival
2003 Cannes Film Festival
Purple Butterfly