Papillon

Marseille, in the 1930s. Escorted by armed soldiers, an endless stream of prisoners marches through the city toward the harbor. The convicts are being shipped to the French penal colony in French Guiana, where they are to remain as settlers after serving their sentences. Among them is Henri Charriere (Steve McQueen), who is accused of stabbing a pimp to death. On his chest he bears a tattoo of a butterfly, a symbol of freedom. Even during the crossing, he thinks of nothing but his escape. To this end, he befriends the con artist Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman) so he can use Dega's money to bribe the prison guards at the penal colony. The plan seems to work, but Henri is betrayed and languishes in solitary confinement for a long time after his failed escape attempt. With the help of a radiologist, Henri - this time together with Louis - launches a second escape attempt, which seems to be under a lucky star. At a remote leper colony, lepers give the fugitives money for a sailboat, which they use to reach Honduras. While Louis is arrested there and extradited to Guyana, Henri is initially able to hide in a monastery. But after being betrayed by the abbess, he, too, ends up back in the penal colony. The years pass; his hair has turned gray, yet Henri will never spend the rest of his life in captivity.