The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly

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Voice Offstage: He awakens one morning to find a doctor sewing his right eyelid shut, as the eyelid no longer functions and risks an ulceration of his right cornea. He mulls over how, like a pressure cooker, he must contain a delicate balance of resentment and anger which leads him to the suggestion of a play he may base on his experiences, with a final scene in which the paralytic man stands up and walks but a voice says, "Damn! It was only a dream!" [4] The Empress: Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, was the patroness of the hospital, which contains various depictions of her. He tells of an imperial visit on May 4, 1864, where he imagines himself beside her. In one of the depictions, he sees a reflection that he finds disfigured but then realizes that it is his. Living each and everyday to its fullest is so very important, and recognizing life’s fragility is inevitable. The inadequacies of the descriptions of this movie emphasize the gulf between the written (or spoken) word and the work of art itself. I could write all the spoilers and it wouldn't make a difference, because the riveting quality here doesn't depend on plot surprises. It is the improbable story, a story that will touch you and then executed by actors who seem like their lives depend on being true to the story. This is simply great film-making, and I can see why it was an award-winner in multiple categories. You can start with the photography, which is fantastic. The direction is innovative, which ads to the cinematography and the story, once you're hooked in, will not let you go, so big-time props for the writers, too. Even if the subject matter (paralysis) is difficult you want to keep watching to find out how much progress "Jean-Dominique Bauby" (Mathieu Amalric) will make.

Di Giovanni, Janine (30 November 2008). "The real love story behind The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018 . Retrieved 4 November 2018. In 2007, painter and director Julian Schnabel released a film version of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly adapted for the screen by Ronald Harwood. It starred Mathieu Amalric as Bauby. Critically acclaimed, the film received the Best Director Prize at Cannes Film Festival, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director, as well as four Academy Award nominations. Climax: Jean-Dominique Bauby recounts in detail the events of December 8th, 1995, the day of his stroke There is a seamless blend of cinematography with the music to enhance the inner life of the main character, the viewer is at one with his inner frustration, his soaring imagination, his follies, faults and lusts. At times it is humorous, at others there are indelible vignettes - one of the long term partner (beautfully played by EmmanuelleSeigner) assisting his lover to communicate with him by telephone. Another is the incredible Max Von Sydow in a riveting performance as the elderly heart-broken father. Another example of how tremendous critical praise drowns out a reasonable film. By no means was it terrible, it was just nowhere near the level of authentic inspiration I was led to believe. Schnabel takes this based-on-a-true-story dealing with a paralyzed man and his one eye blink of communication and milks it for everything it is worth.Its definitely a worthy experience on that score. In this part I'll include all the internals plus all the elements that dealt with his being. The only weak points here were two that bothered me. One is that the filmmaker inherited these diving and butterfly metaphors and felt compelled to show them. These are poorly done in my estimation. I think they could have worked if we had created three worlds, three layers, instead of the two. One of the hospital and outer world, another of the inner mind. If we had a third which would be the fictional world of that inner mind, it might have had a place. We come close in some parts, but a clear decision is apparent to keep it easy to read with the two truths. Several key aspects of Bauby's personal life were fictionalized in the film, most notably his relationships with the mother of his children and his girlfriend. [12] [13] In reality, it was not Bauby's estranged wife who stayed by the patient's bedside while he lay almost inanimate on a hospital bed, it was his girlfriend of several years. [14] Reception [ edit ] The book’s tone, in Jeremy Leggatt’s translation, is dominated by a sweet, even humorous, lyricism.”— The New York Times Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown He began his journalism career at Combat and then Le Quotidien de Paris. He received his first by-line the day Georges Pompidou died in 1974. At age 28, he was promoted to editor-in-chief of the daily Le Matin de Paris, before becoming editor of the cultural section of Paris Match. He then joined the editorial staff of Elle, [2] and later became the magazine's editor. [3]

When the film begins, you see what the world looks like when a man (Jean-Dominique Bauby) very, very slowly awakens for the first time in weeks. It seems he's been in a coma and this is the result of a stroke--a stroke occurring to a vibrant man who was only in his early 40s at the time. This is possibly the best part of the film and it caught my attention--the fascinating use of very unusual camera angles, focus and close-ups. it is all very pollyanerish and trite really . his realationship with his children and their mother seems superficial and distant . Outing: Weeks or months have passed since Bauby has ventured outside the hospital. On this day, he is accompanied by his old friend, Brice, and Claude, the person he is dictating the book to. Though the journey is rough on his butt and winding, he keeps moving toward his goal. Meanwhile, he contemplates how his universe is divided into those who knew him before the stroke and all others. Drawing closer to his destination, he sees Fangio, a patient of the hospital who cannot sit so he must remain standing or lying down. His destination ends up being a place that serves french fries, a smell which he doesn't tire of. It’s a short read, as Jean-Dominique transcends simply relating his time in hospital and his attempts at recovery. This is about trying to rediscover identity in an individual who has lost all of himself. Without the ability to communicate, he breaks down recounting that he can’t ruffle his son’s hair on a whim anymore, and he lives for the scent of fried food to help him remember fond memories. At times he describes his dreams, with an almost stream of conscious approach that I found both deeply moving at times, but also jarring against the harsh reality of his current life. It’s so sad, I just can’t quite put into words how awful it must be to live an almost ‘half life’ like this, where sounds and memories are warped to the point where it’s difficult to remember what’s real and what isn’t anymore. After working with therapists, Jean-Dominique has an unusual request--he wants his therapist to call a publisher. It seems that he (who was the real life editor of 'Elle' magazine) had an existing contract to write a book--and now he wanted to dictate his memoirs! To do this, he had to use a painfully slow methods involving blinks to spell out every word of the text! Long, complicated but, amazingly, quite possible--resulting an an actual book "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"--which also became the title of this movie.

Once the editor in chief of Elle magazine, and a very high profile socialite in Paris, his magnificent mind is now relegated to a whirlwind of thoughts and anecdotes told in a most painfully slow episode of one letter at a time. We become Jean-Dominique from the beginning, played wonderfully by Mathieu Amalric, in this point-of-view subtitled masterpiece, living our last days in a French hospital with only gorgeous rolling hillsides, countryside, beaches, and glaciers to look at. As the editor of Elle we can only expect a lifestyle of luxury and also not be surprised by the amorous affairs of such a charismatic figure. Paris: His old life burns within him like a dying ember. Since his stroke, he has traveled twice to Paris. The first time he went, he passed the building where he used to work as Elle's editor-in-chief, which makes him weep. The second time though, about four months later, he felt indifferent but knew nothing was missing except for him.

This would be a little too precious if we didn't have the fact that its a true story — so far as the man, the situation, the book and the death. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly', which records Bauby's lonely existence, is probably the most remarkable book about the triumph of the human spirit, the ability to invent a life for oneself in the most appalling of circumstances, that you will ever read. GAUDEMAR, Antoine de. "Vagabondages immobiles d'un mort toujoursvivant. Totalement paralysé mais lucide, Jean-Dominique Bauby a "dicté" son livre en clignant d'une paupière. ""Le scaphandre et le papillon"". Ed. Robert Laffont". Libération. Schnabel's thing might be helping us taste something we might otherwise let go unnoticed. In Basquiat, he introduced many people to the artist Basquiat, but also to the revered and misunderstood Warhol. (And if you want to understand someone as weird as Warhol, understanding the contemporaneous – and only slightly weird - Basquiat is maybe a good place to start.) Here, his insight is transcendent. The film is a work of art. About a work of art. The use of visual metaphor and an excellent script lets us use Bauby's condition symbolically. Ingenious editing keeps us on the edge of our seat, especially towards the resolution, as we race to work out how a drive in the countryside will end.

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All the actors were very good in this film. Amalric was so realistic I could have taken him for the real-life person. My personal favorite was speech therapist "Henriette Roi," played by Marie-Josee Croze. More important than her beauty, the concern and the kindness on her face day after day was inspiring. Meanwhile, veteran acor Max von Sydow was mesmerizing as Jean-Do's father.