X
- 2007
- PG-13
- 1 h 52 m
- 2007
- PG-13
- 1 h 52 m
Summary The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. While the physical challenges of Bauby's fate leave him with little hope f...
Directed By: Julian Schnabel
Written By: Ronald Harwood, Jean-Dominique Bauby
- 2007
- PG-13
- 1 h 52 m
- 2007
- PG-13
- 1 h 52 m
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
8.4
Where to Watch
Summary The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. While the physical challenges of Bauby's fate leave him with little hope f...
Directed By: Julian Schnabel
Written By: Ronald Harwood, Jean-Dominique Bauby
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 36 Critic Reviews
92
94% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 36 Critic Reviews
92
94% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Moviegoers are turned off by depressing topics, yet "Diving Bell" supplies something film fans claim they want: pure escapism, the chance to experience extreme sensations virtually none of us will ever have.
Thanks to Bauby's courageous and honest writing, and Schnabel's poetic interpretation, what could have been a portrait of impotence and suffering becomes a lively exploration of consciousness and a soaring ode to liberation.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 157 User Ratings
8.4
90% Positive
142 Ratings
142 Ratings
7% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
3% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 157 User Ratings
8.4
90% Positive
142 Ratings
142 Ratings
7% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
3% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly offers up a kind of harmonic tranquility that's just too good to resist. Watching it is like taking that hot shower after a long, debilitating day, and having that numbing ecstasy wash through your bones.
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The movie has done what those who've cherished the book might have thought impossible -- intensified its singular beauty by roving as free and fearlessly as Bauby's mind did.
Schnabel's sleepy, drifty, at times morbidly funny film tackles something more ambitious, by getting into the head of someone who's trying to get out of there himself.
In his memoir Mr. Bauby performed a heroic feat of alchemy, turning horror into wisdom, and Mr. Schnabel, following his example and paying tribute to his accomplishment, has turned pity into joy.
A poignant reflection on what it means to be alive and, visually, a true cinematic experience.
Far too often, though, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly feels grotesquely calculated, especially the more Schnabel ratchets up the inspirational platitudes of exactly the sort that Bauby--who maintained an acerbic sense of humor about his situation until the very end--would have despised.
How does it feel to be trapped inside our own body? Honestly, I can't even imagine, it must be stifling. But this is precisely what this film addresses, thanks to a first-person testimony, adapting the autobiographical book written by Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Elle, in his last months of life, shortly after a stroke left him totally paralyzed, except for one single eye, which he used to communicate thanks to an ingenious and slow communication system.
It is an impressive film, starting with the theme and narrative in the first person. Like him, we started the film without realizing what is going on, but gradually we go, with him, to discover the harsh reality. Bauby was, then, a man in the force of his life and with a reputation as heartthrob, adventurer and sportsman. This abrupt beginning immediately takes us to the environment of the film and to the desolate feeling of that man, who suddenly saw life disappear and confined himself to a bed, where he cannot even move or speak. He's devastating.
One of the aspects that draws the most attention in this film is the masterful mastery of shooting techniques and camera angles to show us exactly what that man saw, and to put us directly in his skin. Taking advantage of all the cinematographic techniques, from close-up to blur, we can see through Bauby's only good eye, and that gives the film another kind of impact. The sets and costumes are extraordinarily realistic and give the film all the weight of a true story of suffering, but also of overcoming beyond what could be thought possible.
The cast is very good. Being a French film, the language used is, of course, French, but I confess that I quite liked it, since several of the actors involved are regulars in English-speaking films, and it is pleasant to hear them in their native language. Mathieu Amalric is an excellent actor and was perfect in the role of Bauby, and in the way he expressed it, albeit in a static way, without moving, his voice being heard as if it were his thoughts. Emmanuelle Seigner and Marie-Josée Croze are also noteworthy for their positive work.
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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly brings a real-time experience for those who has ever wanted to join in the many adventures of this film and has ever wanted to know how much it takes for them to work on something based on something brilliant.
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Slow and boring movie. If you know many movies, you know the outcome and how the main protagonist will change. I wanted to end the movie after 40 minutes and should have done it.
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I agree with the other negative reviews (of which there are far too few).....this is a very mediocre film about a very unusual tragedy that happened to a rather dull and very successful bourgeois who edits a slick fashion ****- he was very determined to fight back against his cruel **** where is the drama or the interest beyond this point ?......the film runs out of steam very early and director Schnabel really has no idea of what to do with the material.....also Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" isn't really a jaw-dropping masterpiece as Bauby and the film and implies. Martin Pistorius had a similar condition and wrote a far more interesting book about it called "Ghost Boy".
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Production Company
Pathé,
Renn Productions,
France 3 Cinéma,
The Kennedy/Marshall Company,
C.R.R.A.V. Nord Pas de Calais,
Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais,
Canal+,
CinéCinéma,
Banque Populaire Images 7
Release Date Nov 30, 2007
Duration 1 h 52 m
Rating PG-13
Tagline Let your imagination set you free
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 4 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
International Cinephile Society Awards
• 3 Wins & 7 Nominations
