- - -

Review by David DiMichele

- - -

Seldom does a movie come along that manages to engulf the audience in panic, uneasiness and claustrophobia. But the due to its absolute originality, the artsy The Diving Bell and The Butterfly does this with ease. Right off the bat we’re in this world of Elle fashion magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), who is awakening from a coma. He’s told by his doctor that he can’t speak and that he is paralyzed from the head down. The only way he can communicate is by blinking his left eye. One blink for yes and two blinks for no. The doctor comes up with the most frequently used letters of the alphabet and she reads them to him and when he hears the letter he wants to use, he blinks. Amazingly, using this method, he wrote an entire book - a memoir - and had it published in 1997, just before he passed away.

Julian Schnabel is a visionary, a no-holds-barred yet subtle director. The images and emotional distress he manages to put on screen really reveal the condition that doctors call “locked-in syndrome” and rings true to Jean-Dominique himself. Truly, this is the most beautiful film of 2007. Schnabel isn’t up for a Hollywood-type ending but remains true to the hellacious experiences that Jean-Dominique had to endure. The film starts moments after the paralyzing stroke occurred and uses flashbacks to remind us who this man really was, what he did, and what he lacked in the past. Weaving between the present-day point of view and his past life of rock star status, Schnabel creates scenes that fit together perfectly - visits from his wife (Emmanuelle Seigner), their three children, and his mistresses, memories of him shaving his father, an encounter with the Madonna, and even driving in his new convertible through Paris to the music that was used in The 400 Blows.

Once overflowing with lust, greed, love, and family, Jean-Dominique is robbed of all of that . Yet he always feels that he should have repaired or tried to make amends for certain situations in his life that he felt were incomplete. At times he still feels the urge for sex and he also keeps his sense of humor. Within this terrible situation, he still proves himself a man. Being in his condition would be terrifying for most people; being completely paralyzed and having no control over your body. At one point, Schnabel provides us with one of the most frightening images in movies: a doctor sews up the eye of his patient and takes away his sight. But Schnabel doesn’t focus solely on this man’s pain. He realizes he can create a great film about the human condition and how we use certain parts of our bodies (eyes and our memory) to get through the tough times. This movie puts us in the center of this poor yet still brave man’s life. It’s a voyage to another world that you won’t forget.

Film Rating: *** 1/2 out of ****

Official [ Movie Site ]

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email This

Hits: 555

Comments (0)

Write comment

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

Add Comment Preview