The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly

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Ingenious editing keeps us on the edge of our seat, especially towards the resolution, as we race to work out how a drive in the countryside will end. Although he has a decent enough relationship with his physical therapist, Baudry's deeper relationship grows with his speech therapist. He devises a plan that will help him to heal; he assigns each of his family members and friends a different part of his body to pray for, so that every body part is taken care of and nothing is forgotten or left out. There is enough of both meaning and beauty to make The Diving Bell and the Butterfly one of the best films of the year.

His imaginary or dreamed excursions include his imagined conversations with Empress Eugénie—the wife of Napoleon III, an extremely vivid dream in which he and Bernard have been caught up in political intrigue in a speakeasy hidden in an automobile graveyard, and his somnolent wanderings in a wax museum that enshrines his hospital experience. Bauby's wife Céline (Emmanuelle Seigner), whom he left for exotic girlfriend Ines (Agathe de La Fontaine), visits him in the hospital and comforts him while Ines cannot bring herself to see him, saying that she wants to remember him the way he was. Despite his condition, he wrote the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by blinking when the correct letter was reached by a person slowly reciting the alphabet over and over again.The penultimate vignette relays, in great detail, the day of his grievous stroke, effectively mirroring the prologue by grounding the reader in the chronological and material reality of his situation, and reining in (for a moment) the more fantastical elements of the narrative. After awakening from a coma in January of 1996, Bauby found that the only way he could communicate with the outside world was by blinking his left eyelid—the single part of his body over which he had any remaining control. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski with a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, the film begins with Bauby's confused awakening in the hospital after twenty days in a coma.

This pulls the audience and the inner world of Jean closer, and audience could have a feel of putting themselves into Jean's shoes. Much of the film vividly explores the editor's imagination and the camera takes us on some wild rides that include images of Nijinsky, Empress Eugénie, Marlon Brando, and Jean-Do in his imagination skiing and surfing. And with that in mind, one can only speculate about the horrible ordeal that life and situation must have been for Bauby himself in real life. Although locked-in state is a rare condition, few individuals experiencing it are likely to have the wealth and resources, public acclaim and reason to live that Bauby had.The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed. Jean-Dominique Bauby died two days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. They had both planned to bet on the horse but the betting counter had closed before they were able to make a bet. Jean-Dominique Bauby ( French: [ʒɑ̃ dɔminik bobi]; 23 April 1952 – 9 March 1997) was a French journalist, author and editor of the French fashion magazine Elle. Though not paralyzed from head to toe like French fashion magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, many of us are in the "locked-in" syndrome – locked into our resentments and our fears, a rigidity that sours us on life and keep us estranged from family and friends.

By the way, if you DO watch the film be aware that there is some nudity (in his dreams and flashbacks) and a few of the scenes in the film are tough to watch. The hospital itself was founded in the 19th century, and was used for many years “principally for crippled children. His final thoughts before slipping into a coma involve the night he was to spend with his son and where his son went off to. The Vegetable: He recounts the opening to a letter he has sent to friends and associates, about sixty people, which make up the first words of his monthly letter from Berck. In addition to wonderful direction and visuals, what I'll always take from this film is (1) the incredible patience of the speech therapists (which includes Celine, his wife) and (2) continually wondering how frustrated Jean-Do must have felt in his horrible physical condition.Yet Another Coincidence: The author identifies with Alexandre Dumas' character from The Count of Monte Cristo, Noirtier de Villefort [ nl]. He uses his eyes to indicate communication but his fate is more a relief to the audience when they would likely prefer the same thing.