The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

the audience applauded

Better Late Then Never

An Exercise In Nonsense

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

"I decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed, my imagination and my memory."Julian Schnabel's French film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, is a powerful and emotional film about a man suffering from locked-in syndrome due to a stroke. Despite having his mental faculties intact, he is almost completely paralyzed and unable to communicate with the outside world. The once successful magazine editor is now living as a prisoner of his own body. The only muscle he is capable of moving is his left eye and with the help of a therapist he manages to communicate by blinking his eye. Mathieu Amalric gives a powerful performance as Jean- Dominique Bauby, and most of the film takes place from his point of view. Schnabel brilliantly and effectively uses camera angles to give the audience a glimpse of what this person's claustrophobic world was like. From the very opening scene we are hooked and drawn to Jean- Do's new world as he's trapped in his body. It is a very emotional film based on the autobiography written by Bauby himself who managed to write the book with the help of his therapist through the use of a communication system they developed. The sole fact that this man was able to write a book in the condition he was in, is reason enough for me to want to read his book or see a movie based on his life. It takes a lot of courage to open up the way Jean-Do did, and I think it is one of the main reasons why this film worked so well for audiences across the globe. It says a lot about how powerless we are against these illnesses, but at the same time we can also share Jean-Do's approach of learning to deal with his disability and facing the obstacles with optimism. He realized that despite being physically disabled he still had his mental faculties and was able to break those boundaries with the power of his imagination. I am also certain that this element is what caught director Schnabel's attention and what pushed him to make this film. He tells the story with such class that despite the emotional moments you never feel he was trying to be manipulative or force the audience into feeling a certain way. The performances in this film are also outstanding, making this an even more engaging movie. I also loved the beautiful imagery that Schnabel used, turning the film into a poem at times. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was a personal film for me considering that my father is going through a slightly similar experience as the character in this film. He suffered a stroke four years ago and hasn't been able to speak since. The right side of his body was paralyzed, but with help from therapy he has been able to walk again. Despite not being able to speak he understands everything and communicates with us through signs and facial expressions. The brave way in which he has managed to face his illness by always being in good spirits and not letting the disease get the best of him is a constant reminder for me of how much our attitude influences the way we approach life. He could be feeling sorry for himself, or he can stay positive and continue to improve with therapy in a similar way that Jean-Do did with his locked in syndrome. Having your mental capabilities intact is a major force considering you can escape those limitations in your mind and let your imagination fly. In a way, it was a turning point for Jean-Do when he realized this and Schnabel managed to capture those moments really well on camera. The scenes he shares with his family members are among my favorite in the film. I loved the scene in which he's in the beach with his ex-wife and kids. It is such an emotional scene but at the same time it felt authentic and real. The scenes with his father, played by Max von Sydow, are also extremely powerful and effective. You rarely see a biopic like this one, and Schnabel deserves all the credit for making an original and moving picture.

This has to be one of the most amazing movies ever made. The cinematography is sublime as well as the soundtrack. While on the whole the movie is really moving, it is also quite humorous at times and it leaves you with an overwhelming feeling once you have watched it for the first time and tell everyone else about it. Mathieu Amalric's portrayal of Jean-Dominique Bauby is perfect and due to the way the film is shot, you can really identify the main character's emotional turmoil, frustrations and fantasies. Why this hasn't won more awards than it has is truly a mystery, definitely one of the finest French movies of all time if not the finest movie ever full stop.

I watched this movie a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it. It's about a man who has a locked-in syndrome and struggles to accept his new "him". The beginning of the movie is just SUBLIME; how the director moves us into bauby's head, so we can see through his eyes, and listen to his mind and live, therefore, the struggle of this unfortunate man, and walk along with him in his hard and long journey. And for this alone i gave it a 9/10. It is well performed and well written and well filmed. To go deeper in the movie, I liked the idea of the detachment of the soul from the body, and how bauby discovers the purest state of humans and experiences the unlimited power of the mind. This movie pushed me to think about who I really am, a soul and a mind. And to question how should i take care of this real me. It's a must watch movie.

This is a realistic and depressing flick and yet it's also vivid, visually touching and inspiring to a certain degree. The story is about a guy, a good guy and for the most part a good family man becoming a vegetable after having a stroke and becomes paralyzed from top to bottom. And basically the only thing he can move is his eyelids which is the only way he can communicate with other people, by blinking. And the man is a journalist by the name of Jean-Dominique Bauby and the story he writes. And he writes a book while paralyzed by blinking to other people in order to communicate. The movie really makes you feel like your the protagonist himself, in fact this whole movie is from his perspective and even have first person view thing going on a lot of times. But it all works together almost perfectly. And as the movie progresses I couldn't help but feel sympathetic and a bit attached to the guy. The movie gets kinda tedious at times but that just makes you feel more like what the character has to go through during his daily basis. While paralyzed his imaginations and thoughts are still intact and it really does show his imaginations and past thoughts and experiences in a vivid manner. The movie has depression and sorrow but it also pulls at the heartstrings and makes you feel for the protagonist. Since the movie makes you feel like your part of him, well it does it's best to try to go in that direction and it works for the most part. Mathieu Amalric was the right chose as Jean-Dominique Bauby, he made the character so realistic even if most of the talking happens inside the characters head. And Marie-Josée Croze who plays a speech therapist in this reminded me of brunette version of Naomi Watts.7.9/10