DVD Reviews
DVD Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
By Jeff Swindoll
May 1, 2008, 15:38 GMT

Jean-Dominique Bauby finds that he’s a prisoner of his own body after a massive stroke paralyzes him.  After a period of adjusting to his predicament he decides to dictate a novel that he can only do by the blinking of his left eye.  

Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) awakens to find himself in a hospital bed in Berck, France.  He tries to communicate with the doctors and nurses around his bed but he cannot (although we hear his thoughts).  A neurologist tells him that he’s had a massive stoke and is suffering from locked-in syndrome.

Locked-in syndrome means that Bauby’s mind is fully functional, but his body is completely paralyzed.  He only has the use of his left eye and can blink using that eye.  His speech therapist Henriette (Marie-Josee Croze) develops a system so that Bauby can communicate. 

She reads a series of the most used letters in the French alphabet and he blinks to stop on the proper letters to spell out the words.  It takes some time for Bauby to master this technique. 

At first Bauby sees no reason to go on living, but he’s convinced to make what he can of his situation.  He was the editor of Elle magazine and had a book deal with a publisher.  He gets the publisher on the phone, via Henriette, and tells them that he wants to follow through with the deal.  They send Claude (Anne Cosigny) to learn the communication technique and transcribe Bauby’s book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  

It might sound somewhat flip but Jean-Dominique Bauby might look at what happened to Christopher Reeve and wish that would’ve happened to him. His massive stroke left him with only the communication of blinking one eye where Reeve could at least have the power of speech. 

To be fully functional and locked in the shattered shell of your damaged body is a living hell that both men could identify with.  Even in these hellish conditions Bauby managed to find a creative outlet that resulted in a touching book.  What makes this more heartbreaking is that it’s all-true. 

Director Julian Schnabel stays true to the source material and even went as far to learn French and to shoot the film in French as well.  Schnabel crafts a masterful film and puts the audience in the place of Bauby with some creative camera moves, but the debt of gratitude goes to the creativity of the man who was trapped in his own body and created a great work out of his adversity.  

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include a commentary from director Julian Schnabel.  The 12 minute “Submerged” which is a making of featurette. 

The 7-minute “A Cinematic Vision” goes into how the production used some cinematic tricks to put you in the place of Bauby.  Finally there’s a 20-minute episode of the Charlie Rose Show where Rose interviews Schnabel.  

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a moving film made from an equally moving book.  Both tell of the ultimate bravery of a man trapped in his own body and the way that he chose to leave his mark on the world.  

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is now available at Amazon. It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a June 9th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.