Butterfly Jam Film Review: Subdued Drama

A chirpy Barry Keoghan and newcomer Talha Akdoga lead Butterfly Jam, the latest feature from Kantemir Balagov to hit Cannes.

His father, Azik (Barry Keoghan, of Bring Them Down), prides himself on being an incredible chef, with his speciality being delens, a flat, round cheese pancake). Their relationship is mostly strong, especially due to the fact that they work in the kitchen of their restaurant together everyday, but they lack the ability to show emotion or weakness. 

This idea of being seen as “weak” is a theme throughout, and which ultimately, gets taken too far. Director Kantemir Balagov focused on female protagonists in his last two features Beanpole and Closeness, both of which premiered at Cannes, but this time, he’s chosen to have men at the centre point, acknowledging that within some communities, the last thing you’d want to be seen as is fragile. Azik’s friend Marat (Harry Melling, of Pillion) challenges Pyteh as a joke, throwing his arm around him until they’re both on the ground. Marat refuses to show any signs of tapping out, which results in him laying on the floor, unable to get up without help.

Zalya (Riley Keough, of Zola) is the one woman of the family, balancing her own private life as a soon to be mother whilst trying to keep the men at bay. She’s Azik’s sister, but she acts like a motherly figure to both boys. Balagov shows Zalya to be both independent and strong, whereas the men central to the story are continuously trying to balance their thoughts and reactions so they don’t lash out. They see something and they want it instantly, like a precious pelican worth a lot of money that Azik steals (which acts more as a metaphor than anything else) or a job that he demands at his friend’s new restaurant, and when turned down, decides to set off every car alarm on the street. Taking no for an answer isn’t an option for these men. 

By the end, Butterfly Jam is slightly exhausting. Performances from Melling and Akdogan are the standouts, as well as alluring cinematography from Jomo Fray. But there’s not much that the film can be saved by when there’s an erratic shift in tone that tries to balance itself with light comedy but never addresses the elephant in the room. Toxic masculinity is at the forefront but it’s not dealt with, only shown to be bad without consequence. 

An extended script with more emphasis on the importance of the Circassian community in Newark could have made it work better, instead, it falls flat after the first half. The first hour-or-so is intriguing, with so much that works, from finding out about Circassian culture to feeling like you’re watching a unique coming of age film with a performance from Akdogan that promises him to achieve great things. It’s not a complete miss of a film, but it unfortunately loses all momentum. Thankfully, there’s an entertaining pink pelican so it’s worth watching for his scenes alone. 

Butterfly Jam premiered at the Cannes Film Festival‘s Quinzaine des Cinéastes on May 13, 2026.