2007, France/USA
Biography, Drama, Fantasy
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Extended version:
What goes together better than a wink and a smile? How about a wink, a team of doctors, a speech therapist and an alphabet board?
Director Julian Schnabel (Before Night Falls) presents the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, French editor of Elle fashion magazine. After suffering a stroke, the lesion to his brain stem caused Locked-In syndrome. He is completely paralyzed with the exception of his left eye, through which he must learn to communicate.
The beauty of the The Diving Bell and the Butterfly comes from the terrifying perspective of an intelligent man trapped in his own body. His internal thoughts are audible as he talks back to optimistic doctors, laughs at bad jokes and yells at the person who flips off an exciting soccer game. To them he is silent.
His world is limited to the visual frame of his left eye. Schnabel has said there are more than 50 kinds of blinks, and every one seems to be utilized. The film does not resort to just a flash of black, but adjusts to varying conditions: the red of an eyelid, the blurriness of a tear, or a hat that blocks his vision. Beyond gimmicks, these devices help the audience feel a connection to Bauby, and when his face is finally revealed it seems as foreign and strange as it did when first viewed by Bauby.
Mathieu Amalric is perfect as Bauby. Charismatic in memories of a carefree lifestyle, he also succeeds in providing a believable connection between the internal voice and the frozen body. Not an easy feat to convey through an eye and a few grunts.
Marie-Josée Croze portrays Henriette Durand, Bauby’s speech therapist. Through her alphabet board, Bauby communicates by blinking when she says the desired letter for his words, and there is a reassuring rhythm to the alphabetical recitation. Despite her bubbling enthusiasm, his first sentence was "I want to die," and it is hard not to sympathize.
Bauby is no saint, though he received the world's prayers. His ex-wife, Céline, and his children regularly visit, yet his thoughts stray to the girlfriend who can not bear to see his newly altered shell. In a heartbreaking scene, Céline translates his thoughts to the girlfriend, shattering any appreciation for her devotion.
Feeling trapped in his own body, Bauby visualizes himself sinking in an old fashioned diving suit. While at the beach, he pictures himself atop a platform that will soon be covered by the tide. He dreams of the hospital’s namesake patron wandering the halls with a ballet company who also used the facility. Steven Spielberg’s favorite cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, brilliantly recreates the collision of memories and imagination.
Before he became immobile, Bauby had arranged to write a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. Taking advantage of his contract, Bauby began to blink out his memoir. It is from this remarkable book that the film is based, and it is truly a butterfly from a cocoon.