Film: The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Release date: 9th June 2008
Certificate: 12
Running time: 112 mins
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais
Genre: Biography/Drama
Studio: Pathe!
Format: DVD
Country: France/USA
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly is the true story of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), who suffered a crippling stroke leaving him entirely paralysed except for the motor functions of his left eye. His mind, the butterfly, is trapped within the body, the diving bell - the film is giving a poetic voice to that butterfly, based on the book he wrote whilst in hospital without being able to physically write himself.
The film is a personal tale of the enduring human spirit in spite of devastating adversity, as it follows the inner monologue of Bauby coming to terms with his physical prison. He is a man who is helpless to speak or react to anyone, which proves extremely difficult for everyone he once knew, including his wife (Emmanuelle Seigner), children and mistress.
Bauby’s prison, however, slowly erodes as he learns to speak through the blinking of his left eye, which, utilising the help of the nurse (Marie-Joseé Croze), aids him to write the book that inspired the film. It is entirely gripping, humorous but also deeply emotive, as Bauby’s words that no-one can hear are screaming for a voice…
Despite the prison that Bauby is caged within, the film is as free as his mind, with metaphors and symbolism as explicit as the heartbreaking reality of his situation. Julian Schnabel did a superb and sensitive job in directing Mathieu Amalric, despite Amalric having to learn French for the film, and his eye being the only outlet for his visual talent. His onscreen presence shifts between the self important Elle editor to loving father, and finally to a passionate fragility, as the time frame shifts from past to present.
Visually, the film really excels. Schnabel claims the film is about different ways of seeing, and, by his own admission, used his own glasses over the lens to create the unique point of view of Bauby‘s. Latex was used to simulate the view of an eye being sewn up in a particularly memorable few minutes of the film, but it’s the moments of random eye movement that seemingly sum up the film’s personal feel. The audience is dragged through the iris of Bauby as he makes sense of his all too familiar surroundings again and again, as the film’s seductive focal points add up to a portrait of frustrating incarcerating disability.
Although Bauby is unable to communicate with others, the dialogue of others is as natural and as real as exchanges suited to reality. Some characters struggle to adjust their speech to their now paralysed friend, whilst others struggle talk at all – there is an extremely heart wrenching exchange between house-bound father and paralysed son.
Structurally, the timeline is succinct with Bauby’s own regrets with moments in his life - he cannot seem to let go, as the symbolic injection of Schnabel suggests. The symbolism of Bauby’s sinking body is contrasted by his free roaming imagination, which is packed with lust, love and vast emotional landscapes. The truth of the film really hits hardest at the end, as despite the fact that Amalric is acting; his delicate portrayal of Bauby only shows a glimmer of what a destructive force a stroke is on everyone involved.
It is, however, through the exploration of delicate relationships, with the seemingly lifeless, that strike the loudest chord. Bauby is witty and flirtatious for the audience only, but for the characters onscreen he is a shadow of his former self, despite, within his diving bell, finding a new meaning to life. The captivating and consistent caring nurse highlights that humanity is still within reach. She is hurt by his revelations of wanting to die. The writer (Anne Consigny) is a character that develops through her experience, as she has had no relations with Bauby prior and yet, is ultimately, the closest person to him, after aiding him write his book, who is just as moved as the audience by his poetic revelations.
Other moments highlight the tireless conflict - an awkward exchange between Bauby’s ex-wife and his mistress creates an unbearable tension which is then lifted by the heart-warming attempts of Bauby’s friend (Isaak De Bankole) to read to him. These moments make the film uplifting, yet also devastatingly poignant.
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly supplies that shred of real humanity that many films fail to attain as it explores the vast depths people will go for others. The over-bearing lows are met with the soul searching highs proving this film to be one of the most explorative in terms of disability, and especially of vast change that all people, no matter the circumstances, will experience. AE
