Review of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) by Mike S — 11 Mar 2013

This is a unique and very different film. Based on the book of the same name, this is the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor of Elle in France, who suffers a massive stroke that leaves him almost totally paralyzed. The only muscle he can control is in his left eyelid--he can blink that eye but do nothing else. And yet that blinking eye allowed him to dictate the story of his stroke and how he recovered. In fact, the book he dictated is the one the movie is based on.

Bauby's therapist and friends would recite letters of the alphabet from most frequent to least. When they reached the letter Bauby wanted, he'd blink. Slowly, letter by letter, he would dictate his wishes and his book. Over time, his "interpreters" got very good at telling where he was going, which saved some time.

To recreate Bauby's experience, the movie starts off from his point of view as he awakens from the post-stroke coma he was in. His vision is blurry. We can hear his thoughts, but no one else can. When Bauby blinks to signal to his doctors, the camera blinks too. This is a very effective way at putting us inside Bauby's head. Recognizing that it could quickly become claustrophobic, however, the film eventually shows us the "outside" view as well, but still remains firmly rooted in Bauby's experience. In addition to what he sees, we also see what he imagines, from sumptuous meals to scenes of terrible isolation to calving icebergs. It is a wholly remarkable experience of a man who's pre-stroke life is revealed for its shallowness and self-centredness. He does his best to make up for it by re-connecting with people whom he'd let slip away.

The movie is in French, with English sub-titles available. This led to one odd quirk: when Bauby is spelling out words, the sub-titled letters don't match the spoken dialogue, because, of course, the French word he is spelling isn't spelled the same way in English. For example, his interpreter spells out "m", "e", "r", and knows that the word is "merci". Meanwhile, the sub-titles are showing "t", "h", and "a" for "thanks". Otherwise, the sub-titles seemed to be an excellent match for the dialogue. The acting is superb from everyone, including Mathieu Amalric as Bauby, who had to hold his body absolutely still, including a twisted mouth, while letting that one eye roam and blink. The cinematography is gorgeous, in a slightly washed-out palette that might symbolize Bauby's sensitivity to light. It's not clear there is a universal lesson here, but certainly this tale of how one man responded to a rare and frightening fate is nothing short of heroic.