The Euro-cinema version of the buddy picture–elderly crank teamed with preteen heart-warmer–gets a fresh workout in Philippe Muyl's The Butterfly, which distills the premise down to its essence. Claire Bouanich plays an 8-year-old latchkey kid who becomes fascinated with her new neighbor, an amateur entomologist played by Michel Serrault. When Serrault leaves Paris for his annual country hike and butterfly hunt, the old man unwittingly takes Bouanich along as a stowaway. He reluctantly allows her to tag along, and though Muyl spins a little tension out of the anxiety of Bouanich's single mother (who wasn't told about her daughter's trip, and instructs the authorities to look for a gray-haired kidnapper), for the most part, The Butterfly consists of two people out for a long walk. They talk about the nature of nature, occasionally passing other outdoorsy types on the trail, like the cell-phone-toting American businessman who gives Serrault an excuse to expound on why some people are rich and others are poor. Bouanich asks a hundred questions, often mangling her pronunciation, as Serrault grumbles and postures, but ultimately enjoys putting on a little show. The Butterfly is cutesy and slight, but it's also polished and well-lit, and Muyl makes a weeklong hike roll by pleasantly, reducing it to about 80 minutes of screen time. The conversational philosophizing tends to be trite, but Muyl subtly and deftly communicates how the natural world extends beyond the countryside. In spite of Serrault's apparent misanthropy, he comes to realize that Bouanich is as much a part of the ecosystem as any insect, and may even be more fragile.