Cinafilm has over 5 million movie reviews and counting …
Sitemap
Search

Last updated: 10 Jun 2026 at 22:22 UTC

Back to movie details

Review of by Patrick G — 09 Jul 2012

Share
Tweet

The thing that immediately makes The Diving Bell and the Butterfly remarkable is its brilliant, in-your-face direction. The main character, Jean-Dominique Bauby, has suffered a stroke and is paralyzed everywhere except for his eyes.

Appropriately, the entire first third of the film is from a first-person perspective. After that, it goes to seeing Jean-Do (as his friends call him) from the audience's perspective and to going on adventures in his imagination.

Everything, from the scenes with his family, to the footage of nature, is astounding. At the heart of the film is Mathieu Amalric as Jean-Do, and he is terrific, but this is truly a director's film.

Julian Schnabel has made a profoundly moving tribute to human perseverance.

This review of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) was written by on 09 Jul 2012.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly has generally received very positive reviews.

Was this review helpful?

Yes
No

More Reviews of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

More reviews of this movie

Reviews of Similar Movies

More Reviews

Share This Page

Share
Tweet

Popular Movies Right Now

Movies You Viewed Recently

Get social with CinafilmFollow us for reviews of the latest moviesCinafilm - TwitterCinafilm - PinterestCinafilm - RSS