In 1995, out of the blue, Jean-Dominique Bauby, 42 year-old father of two and the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine, suffered a massive stroke. When he came out of his coma three weeks later, he found himself in ‘the dead-end corner of the neurology department’ in a hospital. He learned he had ‘locked-in syndrome’; his mind was thoroughly alert, but his body – excepting his left eyelid – was inert. He was, he said, ‘exiled, paralysed, mute, half-dead, deprived of all pleasures and reduced to a jellyfish existence’. Then his speech therapist came up with an ingeniously simple scheme through which he would be able to communicate. She would read from a list of letters; when she reached the one he wanted to use, he should blink. Thus, Bauby dictated a bestselling book about his condition. It is this story that director Julian Schnabel has now turned into a profoundly moving film.
Schnabel puts us in Bauby’s position, with our vision restricted and our mind active, giving us access to his thoughts, when people talk as if he isn’t there, or whjen, to his frustration, his physiotherapist and speech therapist turn out to be two lithe young women. For a while, his paralysis is intolerable. His first words to his speech therapist using the communication system are that he wants to die – at which she soundly berates him for his selfishness. Evidently, self-pity is going to get him nowhere so he gives up on that tack and gets down to work instead.
If there was a dry eye in the house at the recent screening I attended, it was well concealed, though the trigger for release seemed to be different in every case. For some it was Bauby’s father's poignant telephone call, while others it was his escape into a delicious food fantasy with his assistant before suddenly collapsing into the reality of his terrible solitude once more. This isn't an overtly melancholy movie though. As with Gary Tarn's Black Sun, about the blinded painter Hugues de Montalembert overcoming his condition, it's far more likely to leave you uplifted with the spirit of ingenious triumph over wretched adversity.
Director Julian Schnabel's film about the remarkable life of Jean-Dominique Bauby. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the film tells the story of Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), editor of Elle Paris, who, after a stroke at the age of 42, was left paralysed and unable to speak. He could however move one muscle - his left eyelid. Trapped in what he saw as a 'Diving Bell', a prison from which he was unable to escape, Bauby's only lifeline became the temporary release, or 'Butterfly', of his memories and imagination. With his physical movements so restricted, Bauby's only way of communicating with the outside world lay in the blinking of his eye, a tool he developed to such an extent that he was able to develop a code to represent letters of the alphabet, enabling him to in turn complete his memoirs.
Jean Bauby, internationally renowned editor of Elle, suffered a stroke at the age of 43. The result was complete paralysis, rendering him unable to move or speak. Schn... more >
Jean Bauby, internationally renowned editor of Elle, suffered a stroke at the age of 43. The result was complete paralysis, rendering him unable to move or speak. Schnabel's transports us into his claustrophobic world with highly original direction, shot from the protagonist's perspective.
Diving Bell is a tale of redemption, intimately exploring Bauby's journey from philanderer to a man of strength and humanity. He shares the misdemeanors of his past with brutal honesty, blinking it out letter by letter. Stripped of the lifestyle which once defined him, an awakened sense of self-awareness enables him to connect with women on a level beyond the purely carnal; he develops remorse for the mother of his children and aggrieved lover and forges profound relationships with his female carers.
Despite the aridity of his position, Bauby's dry wit lightens the film and the relief he finds in his own imagination provide colourful contrast; Diving Bell is frequently uplifting and inspiring. A beautiful and talented cast combine with innovative cinematography and score to produce an achingly poignant work of art. < less
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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
