Papillon 1973

Papillon

Storyline:

 Henri Charrière is a safecracker nicknamed "Papillon" because of the butterfly tattoo on his chest. In France, he is wrongly convicted of murdering a pimp in 1933 and is sentenced to life imprisonment in French Guiana. En route, he meets a fellow convict, Louis Dega, an infamous forger and embezzler. Papillon offers to protect Dega if he will fund the former's escape once they reach Guiana. Enduring the horrors of life in a jungle labour camp, the two become friends.

One day, Papillon defends Dega from a sadistic guard and escapes into the jungle but is captured and sentenced to two years in solitary confinement. In gratitude, Dega has extra food smuggled to Papillon. When the smuggling is discovered, the warden screens Papillon's cell in darkness for six months and halves his rations, but Papillon refuses to give up Dega's name. He is eventually released and sent to the infirmary in St-Laurent-du-Maroni to recover.