Rated: PG-13
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Consigny, Emma De Caunes, Max von Sydow
Directed by: Julian Schnabel

• Official Site

There have been many true-story films in 2007, but not one quite like this. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly jumps the gap between over-sentimental and enthrallment with a story that amazes and captivates. The excellent film has what most of the other true-story films this year lack, true compassion.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly tells the amazing true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Amalric), the compelling editor of French Elle Magazine who becomes incapacitated by a devastating stroke. Trapped in a body that will only allow him to blink his eye, Bauby can only dream of his past life.

By happenstance however, armed with a new alphabet for communication with patients like Bauby, therapists Henriette (Croze) and Marie (Garamendia) make the breakthrough that allows Bauby to write with the blink of an eye. Later, Claude (Consigny) a literary assistant, helps him to develop the work that becomes more than just therapy.

The stellar acting by Amalric is a show in itself. Done mostly in flashbacks without his disability, Amalric’s eyes have to tell the story, and he does it with brilliant manifestation. But the talented Croze and Garamendia are the winners here as the kind and relentless teachers that allow the writing of the story by Bauby.

For you Medical College majors, what Bauby had was called Locked-In syndrome, a condition in which a patient is aware and awake, but cannot move or communicate due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body. It is the result of a brain stem lesion in which the ventral part of the pons is damaged. Locked-in syndrome is also known as Cerebromedullospinal Disconnection, De-Efferented State, Pseudocoma, and ventral pontine syndrome. – Wikipedia 2007

FINAL ANALYSIS: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, an enjoyable and memorable true story with fine acting and a valuable lesson about life’s unexpected twists. It’s Oscar worthy in the Best Foreign Film category and a possible Best Actor nod.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."