The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) Le scaphandre et le papillon (original title)

Director:

Julian Schnabel

Writers (WGA):

Ronald Harwood (screenplay)
Jean-Dominique Bauby (book)

Release Date:

23 May 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Let your imagination set you free

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Eye | Stroke | Editor | Blink | France

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 41 wins & 33 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mathieu Amalric	...	Jean-Do
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Céline
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Henriette Roi
Anne Consigny	...	Claude
Patrick Chesnais	...	Le Docteur Lepage
Niels Arestrup	...	Roussin
Olatz López Garmendia	...	Marie Lopez
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Père Lucien et le Vendeur
Marina Hands	...	Joséphine
Max von Sydow	...	Papinou
Gérard Watkins	...	Le Docteur Cocheton
Théo Sampaio	...	Théophile
Fiorella Campanella	...	Céleste
Talina Boyaci	...	Hortense
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Laurent

Also Known As:

"Le scaphandre et le papillon" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for nudity, sexual content and some language.

Runtime:

France:112 min | USA:112 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:12A | Canada:PG | Netherlands:6 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Sweden:7 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43714) | Hong Kong:IIB | Greece:K-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | UK:12 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Berck, Pas-de-Calais, France

Company:

Pathé Renn Productions

Trivia:

The script was originally in English. Director Julian Schnabel convinced the studio (Pathé, a French studio founded in Paris) to change the language to French to stay true to Bauby's life and story.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jean-Dominique shaves his father's mustache, removing the shaving cream. In the next shot, his mustache is covered with shaving cream again. In the following shot, the shaving cream is gone again.

Quotes:

Papinou:Having a mistress is no excuse for leaving the mother of your children; the world has lost its values.

Movie Connections:

Features Making Friends (1936)

Soundtrack:

Chains of Love

The films places you inside the author's head and keeps you there.

Earlier this year, a good friend, avid reader and film buff informed me that one of her favorite books was the basis for a film which recently won awards at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. I knew nothing of the novel or the film so she offered me the book to read. I enjoyed the story but didn't completely appreciate its depth until I recently got a sneak peek at the film.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is about Jean-Dominique Bauby, (Mathieu Amalric) a popular editor of the French fashion magazine 'Elle.' At age 43 he is stricken with a stroke leaving him with lock-in syndrome, a medical condition that, except for his left eye, rendered him completely immobile. In fear of his right eye becoming "septic" doctors quickly stitched the eye shut.

This sealing of that eye is an early scene, which is so perfectly shot that it places you inside Bauby's head and body, and keeps you there for the entire film. You see the world as he views it while desiring to be free of the paralyzing feeling of a sinking diving bell. At other times, with his imagination, you find yourself fluttering as free as a butterfly.

Bauby wrote his story with the use of a unique sequence of letters specifically designed so he could blink his eye to communicate as he created every single word of his story.

This film is in no way depressing. The cinematography is brilliantly captured. Everyone was completely captivated by the screenplay as we experienced life deep inside Bauby's body, mind and soul. For the entire 2+ hours, you won't want to be anyplace else.