(Viewed on 5/22/11)

No no no!  Not the adorbz dog of the same name! 

…Really?  REALLY??

That’s what I’m talking about.  Steve McQueen as Henri “Papillon” Charriere.  Papillon was one of the best films I’ve seen during this year-long project, and I wonder when I will stop singing its praises.  Probably never. 

It came to me as a recommendation from a co-worker, as many films this year have. I watched it with Josh the night that we moved into our new house.  We were terrifically exhausted, and after eating a delicious dinner of burritos from Tapatio #2 at 11pm, I was certain I would be asleep within minutes of starting this 2 1/2 hour epic about prisoners in French Guiana.  If you asked me at the time, I would rank it up there with “the sun setting daily” and “beets taste like musty basements” in my level of certainty. But at 2am, Josh and I were still up talking about this amazing film. 

It’s based on a true story that somehow is EVEN CRAZIER than the events in the film.  Normally, a film would exaggerate the adventure of a story like this, but much of Papillon’s story was cut out of the film, probably to make the story more believable to audiences!  I can’t wait to read the novel. 

If you like The Great Escape, talk to me after you’ve seen Papillon. 

Oh, and Dustin Hoffman was fantastic too.