Rated: PG-13

The film is based on that very memoir penned by Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Almaric), and as such tells of his recovery from a stroke that leaves him with locked-in syndrome -- and therefore unable to communicate except by a method involving blinking his left eyelid which a speech therapist (Marie-Josee Croze) helps him to develop -- as well his thoughts, memories and regrets concerning his life up to that time.

Before his stroke Bauby had had an as-yet unfulfilled book deal but, rather than abandon this project due to his condition, he chose instead to write the book anyway: French Elle magazine, of which he had been an editor, hires a woman (Anne Consigny) to transcribe the book as he dictates it using his left eyelash.

It is impossible to watch this film without noting that it is a visually breathtaking work of cinema, and aesthetically near-flawless. The cinematography is excellent and the colors and people present in each frame make Diving Bell a true beauty to behold. However, there is far more to this movie than its appearance, however lovely that may be. The film is evidence that a truly skilled filmmaker can render the impossible, possible.

Screenwriter Ronald Harwood claims he had once felt that the original memoir would have been impossible to adapt into a film, so perhaps the fact that such a man said this, and then turned around and wrote an adapted screenplay, is the greatest indication that the film was always sure to be something magnificent.

The film fulfills this promise through and through. The acting is brilliant: Almaric is brilliant as Bauby, making the scenes where he portrays the man after his stroke almost too difficult to watch; Emmanuelle Seigner is brilliant; and Max von Sydow is particularly notable as Jean-Dominique Bauby's father. This unforgettable movie is worth multiple viewings, and the DVD is certainly worth owning.

Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, and Marie-Josée Croze

This Reviewer's Rating: 5 / 5

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