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Papillon is a 1973 American drama film that tells the story of Henri "Papillon" Charrière, a French convict who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in a penal colony in French Guiana. The film stars Steve McQueen as Papillon, and Dustin Hoffman as his friend Louis Dega. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and based on the autobiographical novel by the same name written by Charrière himself, the film is a portrayal of the realities of life in a brutal prison system.

The story begins in 1931, where we see Charrière, a safecracker, falsely accused of murdering a pimp in Paris. He is sentenced to life in prison and shipped to French Guiana, a brutal penal colony in South America. On his first day in prison, he meets Dega, a wealthy counterfeiter who is indebted to the guards and must pay for protection from other inmates. Charrière and Dega form an unlikely alliance, with Charrière providing protection for Dega in exchange for him financing their escape attempts.

Throughout the film, we see the inhumane conditions of the penal colony, where prisoners are subjected to hard labor, abuse, and torture. Papillon and Dega's first escape attempt fails, resulting in Papillon being put in solitary confinement for several years. However, their resilience and determination for freedom remain unbroken, and they continue to plan their escape.

As the years go by, Papillon becomes more and more desperate to escape, and he convinces Dega to join him in a plan to escape by sea. However, the plan fails and they are both recaptured. Papillon is crushed, but Dega is resigned to his fate in prison as he has become too weak and sick to attempt another escape.

After years of enduring the harsh realities of the brutal prison system, Papillon finally gets his chance to escape when he is transferred to a new prison on Devil's Island. He teams up with a band of fellow prisoners, and they engineers an incredible escape that involves building a raft out of coconuts and fleeing from the island.

The film ends with Papillon finally achieving his long-held dream of freedom, while Dega accepts his fate, knowing that he would die in prison.

Papillon is a powerful and emotional film that showcases the strength of the human spirit in the face of immense adversity. The performances by McQueen and Hoffman are outstanding, and they bring a great deal of depth and passion to their roles. The film's themes of friendship, resilience, and hope are timeless, and they are still relevant today.

Overall, Papillon is a must-see film that portrays an incredible true story of survival and hope in the face of extreme hardship. It is a masterpiece of cinema that will leave viewers moved and inspired by the incredible strength of the human spirit.

Papillon is a 1973 crime movie with a runtime of 2 hours and 31 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 8.0 and a MetaScore of 58.