Diving Bell And The Butterfly, The Review

"The Diving Bell And The Butterfly" reviews

DVD

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-06-06 16:50:18

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly - the title is the author's definition of his body and eye respectively - is the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), the editor of French Elle in the 90s.

Paralysed except for his left eye after a stroke, Bauby communicates by blinking. On the surface of it this sounds like it could be dull in the extreme, but Julian Schnabel's film is beautiful, life-affirming and extremely moving, making the viewer Bauby's confidant. Bauby suffers a traumatic re-birth: loneliness and isolation, frustration, anger, wit and philosophising. They all collide in his mind, but as his therapy develops he manages to relay first simple things, but then takes on the seemingly impossible pursuit of a memoir. A (very) patient assistant is appointed and slowly she translates his blinks into letters and then words. The book was eventually published in 1997.

Schnabel adopts different points of view, but primarily Bauby's - it's engaging, funny and, not surprisingly, extremely powerful. Those of his patients and also the 4th wall do appear sporadically. He's made an astonishing film few would have thought possible with this material, managing to convey the full gamut of Bauby's emotions. It's an original work too; touching with an intact plot perfectly rendered by Ronald Harwood's screenplay (which won him a BAFTA).

Mathieu Amalric is superb. Bedridden and immobile, his voiceover and (literally)still portrayal captivates you. Emmanuelle Seigner also deserves plaudits as his estranged wife.

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly is a beautiful film that will make you value every single drop of life - as you should - even it's travails, woes and mundanity. Most importantly, it highlights the lifeblood of the human condition: The opportunity to communicate and share a life with others.

The extras complement this meisterwork: a director's commentary, a making of, trailer, gallery and an insightful interview with American TV journalist Charlie Rose.

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