The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
Directed by Julian Schnabel
Written by Ronald Harwood
Starring Matthieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Cosigny
Release Date November 30th, 2007
Published December 25th, 2007
Jean Dominique Bauby was a remarkable man even before the extraordinary end of his life. A globetrotting journalist who climbed the highest peaks, leapt out planes and lived the life most people dream of, the editor of the French edition of Elle Magazine could never be accused of taking life for granted.
That was the cruel irony of his fateful end. Bauby suffered a stroke at age 42 that left him paralyzed and suffering from what is called locked in syndrome. His mind was clear and vibrant but he was unable to move or communicate. The story of how Bauby in this condition still managed to author a bestselling book is captured in remarkably vivid fashion in Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Matthew Amalric stars as Jean Dominique Bauby and it is a remarkable transformation. The handsome French actor, glimpsed only briefly, in flashback, as he really looks, transforms completely into the role of a man trapped inside his own body. In the coma however, we catch only a few moments of Amalric as Bauby.
What director Julian Schnabel does so remarkably is use his camera to show us what Bauby's perspective was on his condition, literally and figuratively. Working from the text of Bauby's own bestseller, Schnabel and Oscar winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski show us everything from Bauby's bed ridden and wheelchair bound perspective.
The script by Oscar winner Ronald Harwood (The Pianist) infers from Bauby's book what Bauby's inner monologue was like in all its desperate, often sad, determined and darkly humorous musing. Thus we are inside Bauby's mind and watching through his eyes and we are riveted by his inner strength and struggle.
With the help of his speech therapist (Marie Josee Croze) and the support of his ex-wife (Emmanuelle Seigner) Bauby made use of the only working parts of his body, his left eye and his brain and developed a way to communicate. Making use of an assistant he managed to use a series of blinks to write a book about his struggle and the film of his inner struggle is stunning and compelling.
While you may think that the first person perspective is limiting, Schnabel and Kaminski make use of fantasy and other cinematic tricks of the trade to give us different perspectives and some of the most remarkable cinematography of the last year.
French with French subtitles, if you aren't a fan of foreign films you won't like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. If you are open minded however, you will get to experience an extraordinary true story crafted by a master director. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a remarkable piece of filmmaking.
