All present and accounted for, sir.
Thank you, Captain.
As of this moment...
you are the property of the Penal Administration...
of French Guiana.
After serving your full terms in prison...
those of you with sentences...
of eight years or more...
will remain in Guiana...
as workers and colonists...
for a period equal to that of your original sentences.
As for France...
the nation has disposed of you.
France has rid herself of you altogether.
Forget France and put your clothes on.
Papillon! Papi!
You'll be back, Papillon.
Don't worry, you'll be back.
No, you won't.
You, that way.
Down there. You, too.
Next, over here. Come along.
Come on. Come in here.
You, too. Over there.
Come along, up there. Hurry up.
You, too. Down. Down. In there.
In there.
Come along, now. Down.
Come on down. Down there.
Come on, up there.
In there.
We're really something aren't we?
The only animals...
that shove things up their ass for survival.
The first time I shoved one up my gut...
it infected me so bad the camp doctor...
had to cut it out.
He doesn't have any ether...
so he knocks me out with rum.
- Then you know what he did? - He stole it.
A butterfly. You're Papillon, aren't you?
The bastards gave you life.
Right the end of the line they think.
It may not be as long as you think.
Forty percent of us will die the first year out.
They gave him life, too.
The kid's only 18.
Look at him. No wonder he dreams.
He'll never make it.
But a man like you could make it...
if you have enough money.
Hong long were you there?
Nine years of work camp...
- nine years a colonist. - You were outside the wall.
- Why didn't you run? - There's no place to run to.
You're out in the middle of a swamp...
1, 000 miles from... no place.
Now, if you've got a lot of money that's a different thing.
I mean, you take somebody like Dega there. Back there.
Louis Dega. The best counterfeiter in France.
National Defense Bonds.
- Series of 1928. - Right.
Now, if you've got money like he has...
there's a chance to buy your way out.
That is unless somebody...
cuts his guts open first to get out all that cash.
Everybody up! Let's go! Everybody up!
Come on, everybody up! Let's go!
Mind if sit down here?
If you wish.
You're Dega, aren't ya? Louis Dega?
Sorry to see you here.
I presume most of us have earned our passage.
You're Papillon. You got life for killing a pimp...
then you had the bad taste to tell the prosecutor...
you were going to escape and kill him, too.
- I was framed. I'm innocent. - No one is innocent.
I'm no pimp killer, for Christ's sake.
I'm a safecracker. And that's a profession...
of which I thoroughly disapprove.
I put almost everything I had...
into National Defense Bonds.
Series of 1928.
1928?
Your instincts were sound. How much did you lose?
I wouldn't put my money on those bonds.
Not any more than you would.
I'm relieved to hear that. If that's true...
why are we having this little chat?
Every convict on this ship knows who you are.
Any of them would slit you open...
and get what you're carrying.
So?
You need protection.
From you?
Remember what the chicken said to the weasel?
If he was a healthy weasel...
the chicken didn't get a chance to say anything.
Think about that.
Hose down!
Come on, off your asses! Hose down!
Come on, you've got a fever. Do what I tell ya.
Come on.
Julot!
I've got a question.
If I wanted to get a boat when I got there...
small, maybe a 15-footer...
- how much would it cost? - Don't know...
Fr 3,500 Fr, 4,500. It all depends.
What if I could pick up the money to buy one?
Then I guess you'd have yourself a boat.
You know the country.
You and I could make it out of there.
The answer is no. Nothing against you.
If I've gotta go to solitary...
for some half-assed escape that didn't work...
I want the mistake to be mine...
not anybody else's you understand?
So the answer is no.
How'd it feel, kid? Good.
All right. Come on, move it!
Move it a little. Let's go!
Let's move!
- What do you want? - Almost unbearable, isn't it?
- What? - The heat.
It's not too bad.
Of course, you're closer to it than I am.
Oh, yes. You're referring to last night, aren't you?
Well, aren't you?
May I tell you something?
At first glance I regarded you...
with rather, a large degree of unworthy suspicion.
- Am I clear? - No.
Well, it now seems quite possible that until...
we get to a decent jail with bribable guards...
I may stand in some need of...
rather close physical protection.
It depends on how long you want to live.
Oh, a long time.
Then you got a problem.
Well, I presume that you have some...
goals, some particular need that...
outweighs all others.
I mean, if so, may I ask what it is?
- Money. - For what?
Escape.
Very good.
You keep me alive...
until we land in Guiana...
and I will underwrite any escape you care to arrange.
Escape for me. Not for us.
Of course.
I have no intention of even attempting an escape. Ever.
Done.
Thank you.
Leave him alone... or I'll cut your head off!
Hide this!
Over there is Saint Joseph.
The other island is Royale.
The one the right is Devil's.
Julot, why is it so hard to escape from there?
A man could swim to the mainland.
No, there must be a better way than swimming.
No, swimming's not the way.
The current is so strong it'll push you right back...
where you started from.
When you're on those islands...
you're there for keeps.
Where do we go?
We go up the Moroni River.
Then we dock at Saint Laurent.
That's where they decide whether to send you...
to the work camps or to the islands.
You see those two on the dock with the guns?
Right over there.
They served their time. Now they're colonists.
- They're turned man hunter. - Man hunter?
Yeah, you escape, they hunt.
For money, I presume a reward.
- Jesus! - Get ready to move!
Line up to disembark.
I'm going to have an accident going down that gangplank...
and it's gotta look good...
- so lend me your shiv. - What the hell for?
I'm a two-time loser. No matter what happens...
I'll be sent to the islands on the next transport.
I have to get in the hospital to think.
Now give me that shiv!
You're crazy, Juliot.
Single file. March.
Hold it! Hold it!
Let's go!
Single file!
Move! Let's go!
Bring a stretcher.
Single file, single file.
Take him away!
- All right, move! Move. - Let's go!
Move it!
Come on, move 'em! Let's go! Come on!
Column, march!
Keep moving.
You two, pick him up quickly!
Attention!
Welcome to the Penal Colony...
of French Guiana...
whose prisoners you are...
and from which there is no escape.
First attempts at escape...
add two years in solitary to existing sentences.
Second attempts add five more.
Of course, more serious offenses...
are dealt with in this fashion.
Make the best of what we offer you...
and you will suffer less than you deserve.
Dismissed.
In the bunkhouse. One, two...
three, four. Go on!
Go on! Get a move on!
Mr. Dega?
Yes, indeed. I know all about you.
- Very intelligent man. - Thank you.
I seem to be known in all the wrong places.
Well, I have a friend who is a guard. For very...
Yes, go ahead. For very little money...
he can arrange for certain people to stay here...
instead of being sent to a work camp...
or one of the islands.
Can he get us a job here...
so we can walk around the place?
Perhaps a selection from which we may choose?
Oh, yes. That is my friend can.
You take our money and you put your life on the line.
Of course.
How much will it cost?
Well, my friend has a very large family.
Many little children, you understand?
And his sergeant has a mother with heart trouble.
He was asking you how much not how many.
If you don't mind, I'll do the negotiating.
How much?
For you, Fr 500. For him Fr 1,500.
- He made trouble. - Yes, indeed he did.
Nevertheless I'll give you Fr 1,250 for the both of us.
Now, you take it or leave it as you wish.
Try again.
Very well. I want two pairs of comfortable shoes...
for the both of us...
and you, you get the Fr 2, 000.
Don't you have to go to the toilet?
Oh, yes, of course. Would you excuse me a moment?
You don't need to, Mr. Dega.
Unless, of course, you want to.
I can pick it up in the morning.
Get moving, white men!
Let's go! Come on, move it! Let's go! Come on, move it!
On your feet!
Attention! Present arms!
No! No!
No!
Mr. Dega, did you get the money?
Move it! Move it! Move it!
Get going! Move it!
Fischer, what the hell's wrong?
Someone broke out of the hospital compound.
All right, break it up. We'll get him.
Next.
You're fine. Next.
I must be better than I feel.
You're in wonderful shape.
How do you fail an examination like this?
Next.
7551.
- Dega? - Yes, sir, Louis Dega.
It was suggested that I speak to you, sir.
I have it right here.
We'll just keep you on here in the cleaning squad.
Thank you, sir. There's also my friend.
- You're Louis Dega? - I am, sir.
And this is my friend, Papillon.
We have a great deal in common, Mr. Dega.
- I'm glad to see you. - Well, thank you, sir.
Of course, if the circumstances were...
My family lost everything they had...
in counterfeit... National Defense Bonds.
Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that, sir.
Even so, buying them...
was a tribute to their patriotism...
wouldn't you say?
And you're Mr. Dega's friend?
There's one thing about Saint Laurent you'll like:
We never separate old friends.
Kilo 40. Both of them. Today's transport.
What is kilo 40?
Don't touch him. You'll wind up worse off than he is.
Move! Get moving!
Duck!
Get up, you lazy bastards!
You get that crock and you bring him along!
You! Pick another man and grab that crock.
Come on, move! Move!
It isn't dead they just irritated him!
Get his tail. You get his tail.
- Where's his tail? - Over there.
- Are you ready? - Yeah.
- So am I. - Go ahead.
Okay.
Ready?
- Is that the tail? - No.
I'd better go over to his side.
You get the head.
- The head? - Yeah.
You try the tail.
Okay, now you try the head.
Grab him!
He's dead.
He's still talking.
He's dead!
He's dead?
Move it!
Come on.
Come on, hands up.
Next! Move!
Next!
Bring it around here.
Just lay the crock right there.
- Just drop it. - Hold it.
Move out.
He's pretty big. This skin's worth some money.
Move it!
What the hell are you looking at?
You're Louis Dega.
Yes, sir. I'm Clusiot.
How come you ended up in a place like this?
Favoritism.
Friend's kind of quiet isn't he?
He's dead.
He jammed a piece of wood down his throat...
and choked himself to death.
Three-way split...
it's fair, isn't it?
Quinine.
Worst country in the world for malaria.
Here, take them.
Go ahead, I've got some left.
Well, if I'm going to get my sleep...
I'll have to take this poor bastard with me.
A decent man.
Dega...
the man hunters. The ones we saw down at the dock.
Son of a bitches.
- Butterflies? - Yeah, that's right.
Some guy named Richter.
He works every camp on the river buying the damn things.
We catch them, he buys them...
the guards get the big payoff.
It's called the Blue Morphus butterfly.
It's wings are used for dye in making American currency.
How often does he come up here?
- A couple of times a month. - Boat?
No other way.
- Why? - Thinking.
I handle a boat pretty good myself you know?
Yeah?
You're supposed to catch them you clumsy bastard.
Where do you send these bugs, sir?
The United States.
How much would you charge to send this one to Panama?
Guard, come here a minute.
Don't turn me in, for Christ's sake.
- I got Fr 1, 000. - I didn't hear you.
- I said got Fr 2, 000 on me. - Right now.
What's the trouble?
This man just brought me the finest Morphus...
I've ever seen.
- Why don't you get him a net? - Right away, sir.
I want a seaworthy boat new sails.
It'll cost you Fr 4, 000 my friend.
Half now, half on delivery.
- When will that be? - One week from tonight.
- Where will the boat be? - Half a mile down river.
About 300 yards this side of the river...
There's a big tree. You can't miss it.
I'll be there.
You bring me the rest of the money.
I'll take you to your boat.
You're a goddamn burglar...
and that proves it.
Are you asleep?
No.
I've been thinking...
when you decide to go.
I'd very much appreciate going with you.
What?
- Can you handle a boat? - No.
Well, can you even see a boat without your glasses?
I can help.
Jesus Christ! You're the one that didn't want to risk it.
I didn't.
Now I have no choice.
If I stay here in this place...
I'll die.
Well, it's your money.
You two, I've got a job for you.
You load a stiff into the boat you load him right now.
Julot!
Pick him up.
Dega!
Don't puke here!
Hey, Sarge! Sarge!
He didn't mean it sir.
He's sick. I'll take care of him.
Stop that, you pig!
You just leave him to me.
I'll take care of him, sir.
Stop, you bastard!
Do you realize that the first man who...
carved a wheel out of stone...
used it as an ornament?
I've always admired him for that.
There's one search party that gave up.
Instead of trying to make the orifice fit the lens...
I made the lens fit the orifice.
What do you think? Did he make it or didn't he?
I'd say his chances are very poor wouldn't you?
Jesus! Is that all you've got to say?
What do you expect me to say?
That man risked his life to save mine.
For me that's a new experience.
These may work better than I'd hoped.
I told you, you couldn't miss it.
The only trouble is you're a week early.
It's up to you.
You're worth just as much dead as you're alive.
The rule here is total silence.
We make no pretense of rehabilitation here.
We're not priests, we're processors.
A meatpacker processes live animals into edible ones.
We process dangerous men into harmless ones.
This we accomplish by breaking you.
Breaking you physically, spiritually and here.
Strange things happen to the head here.
Put all hope out of your mind...
and masturbate as little as possible. It drains the strength.
That's all, take him away.
One, two...
three, four, five.
One, two, three, four, five.
Oh, Jesus!
No. You'll eat everything they give you.
I'm going to be fine.
One, two, three, four, five.
I'm Jo-Jo.
Papillon.
How do I look?
I feel pretty good...
but I need somebody to tell me how I look.
Fine. You look fine.
"Chew the coconut well
then swallow the pulp. One each day...
for strength. My thoughts are with you.
Squinter." Dega.
I'll be a son of a bitch! Dega.
I'm still here, you bastards!
Prisoner, show yourself.
You've been receiving coconuts.
Unless you tell us who sent them...
your rations will be cut half.
Well, how can I tell you...
who sent me stuff, I didn't get?
What stuff?
Well, I don't know.
You...
you said coconut.
I want that name and I want it now.
Put him on half rations...
and screen his cell for six months.
Darkness does wonder for a bad memory.
You know the charge.
I'm innocent.
I didn't kill that pimp.
You couldn't get anything on me and you framed me.
That is quite true.
But your real crime has nothing to do...
with a pimp's death.
Well then? What is it?
Yours is the most terrible crime...
a human being can commit.
I accuse you...
of a wasted life.
Guilty.
The penalty for that is death.
Guilty.
They know.
How did you hear?
Trusty works in the launch...
between here and Saint Joseph.
That's all that he said?
Then it's only a matter of time.
You think so?
He's on half rations now. He can't exist on that.
Forced to choose between starvation and telling...
what would you do?
We're not talking about me. What would you do?
I'd tell. I'd have to.
You get weak...
you get delirious you lose control...
and you talk.
Then you won't blame him, huh?
Blame is for God and small children.
Look at me! I eat bugs!
I don't... I don't have enough sense...
to get out of the rain.
Prisoner, show yourself.
Give me the name and you're back on full rations.
Just one name.
Well, I don't get that hungry.
You'll starve. You should see yourself.
I was born skinny.
Then you'll die.
One, two...
I'm Papillon.
Francisco.
How do I look?
- Do I look okay? - You look swell.
That's 30 days more pimp killer!
I want to see the warden.
I want to talk to him.
I have something I want to tell him.
Who gave you the food?
I...
Jesus, Warden...
I had it.
I had the name honest to God...
I must be light.
I must be lightheaded or...
something because...
I'm trying. I'm trying.
I can... I can't remember.
Honest to God, I can't. I can't, I can't remember.
It's not there, Mr. Prosecutor.
I don't know, it's not, it's not there. No.
It's gone.
He's dying.
You're dead.
Your term is completed.
One, two, three, four...
five...
six.
Oh, you son of a bitch.
Welcome to the Penal Colony...
of French Guiana...
whose prisoners you are...
and from which there is no escape.
First attempts at escape...
add two years in solitary to existing sentences.
Second attempts add five more.
Of course, more serious offenses...
are dealt with in this fashion.
Hello, Papi!
Don't take advantage. I'm in handcuffs.
Make the best of what we offer you...
and you will suffer less than you deserve.
Move! In the bunkhouse!
I have hot soup, with real meat in it.
Dega sent it to you.
My name is Maturette.
How are you?
Pretty good.
You'd be much better health...
if you'd given them my name.
I almost did.
Someone once said that temptation resisted...
is the true measure of character.
How'd you get out of kilo 40?
It was the rankest sort of corruption.
Suffice to say the warden now has a new house...
and I've become his chief clerk.
Papi, look...
My wife and lawyer...
have convinced certain members in the Ministry of Justice...
that my sentence was a bit harsh.
Some months back I asked them...
to look into your case...
and they're made some headway.
One of the principle witnesses against you...
may be willing to change his story...
for a price.
If this happened, when would it be?
You could be out in perhaps three years.
- Too long. - No, it isn't.
And with a good job the time will pass very quickly.
Listen, my friend.
You owe me nothing.
Tell me what you want.
A boat.
I should have known.