PLOT: Sixteen-year-old Pyteh (Talha Akdogan) is a talented high school wrestler on his way to the state championships, who lives with his aunt (Riley Keough) and ne’er-do-well hustler father (Barry Keoghan) in Newark’s Circassian community.
REVIEW: Kantemir Balagov’s Butterfly Jam is an intriguing slice-of-life from a community rarely represented on film — Circassian-Americans. Descended from Circassia, a territory conquered by Russia and now largely living in exile (with a large portion of the population having settled in Turkey), the film depicts the lives of a close-knit family scraping by in Newark. Azik (Barry Keoghan) is a dreamer, working as a chef in his family’s diner, who often finds himself pulled into get-rich-quick schemes by his low-life best friend, Harry Melling’s Marat. He’s well-loved by his pregnant sister, Zalya (Riley Keough), and son, but they both wish he’d finally grow up and make something of himself. Yet, despite his reasonably good intentions, he’s seemingly unable to mature, with his son, Pyteh, already more responsible than him.
Butterfly Jam is a solid coming-of-age story for Talha Akdogan’s Pyteh as he navigates his loyalty to his father, but also his hopes to move on past their community, where his father never does better than scrape by. Akdogan delivers a good performance as the rapidly maturing teen who bristles at his father’s attempts to bond with him — such as the ill-advised choice to bring his son to see a local prostitute as a present for doing well in his wrestling competition.
While Keoghan’s Azik could have been insufferable, he’s played with a high degree of empathy. Azik’s not a bad man; he’s just wildly immature, with him more comfortable with his son as his playmate rather than someone he actually needs to take responsibility for. Imagine Robert De Niro’s Johnny Boy from Mean Streets had a son and you have an idea of the vibe Keoghan is going for, and his performance is dynamic. Riley Keough also does strong work as Azik’s very pregnant sister, who loves her brother but also knows he’s a deadbeat who can’t really be relied on. Harry Melling also has a strong role as Azik’s best friend, Marat, a wildly insecure, wannabe thug who’s quick to take offence at the slightest provocation, but doesn’t have the brawn to back up his temper — leading to a shockingly violent incident about an hour in that takes this former coming-of-age tale into darker directions.
The cast and the intriguing Circassian milieu are Butterfly Jam’s biggest strengths. However, the film does get a bit lost as it spins its wheels in too many directions, with a subplot involving a stolen bird, and Pyteh’s tentative romance with a fellow wrestler, Alina (real-life teen wrestler Jaliyah Richards), not as intriguing as the dynamic between Keoghan and Melling — both of whom you’ll want to see more of.
While uneven, Butterfly Jam still managed to hold my attention through its running time, with it a solid effort for Balagov, who’s made several well-received films that have also played Cannes — with this being his English-language debut. It’s worth seeing for the cast and the culture it represents, even if it tends to meander at times and occasionally drags.
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