The synopsis printed on the back of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly beseeches the viewer to 'experience the triumphant tale of
a man whose love of life and soaring vision shaped his will to achieve a life without boundaries." This statement leaves much to the imagination if little is known of the main character Jean-Do Bauby's true-life story. While Bauby's life may have been riddled with fame, adventure, and eventually tragedy, the screen version fails to communicate the full spectrum of experiences witnessed by the main character. Ironically Bauby's life is depicted as more of an imprisonment than one 'without boundaries." The film therefore leaves much to be desired in terms of its emotive impact on the viewer.
After achieving a successful career as the editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Do Bauby suffered a stroke that left him physically paralyzed although mentally acute. The film commences after the stroke, allowing many of the character's secondary experiences to be overlooked, the nuances that, if seen, would have allowed the viewer to enter Bauby's world more fully. From the onset of the narrative the filmmaker, Julian Schnabel, allows the viewer to play the role of Bauby. The camera takes the place of the character's eyes causing the atmosphere to become incredibly claustrophobic. The film is too stifling to feel comfortable in and therefore the point-of-view cinematography is distracting. Desperately seeking a change of pace one's frustration is only enhanced by short flashbacks that are too few and far between. At the forty-minute marker one can finally breath a little as Bauby is finally viewed for the first time from the outside.
The accelerated pace is liberating however it comes far too late in the narrative. In the second half of the film select scenes are actually poignant. The most impressionable of these illustrates a conversation between Bauby and his father, nearly one hundred years old and ill himself. The anguish of a father unable to communicate with his son is heartwarming however such a climax is a reminder that the rest of the film fails to render nearly as much sentiment. A beautiful style surfaces as Bauby dictates his autobiography through language made up of eye movements. The depth and imagery of Bauby's words portrays his strength of mind while the slow process of speaking through blinks plays out beneath his narration. Still, as the character states that, "two things are left not paralyzed, my imagination and my memory," one anticipates a series of flashbacks that will lend context to his famed life. Still little is revealed about the character and such subtleties unfortunately deduct from the overall experience instead of enhancing it.
After achieving a successful career as the editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Do Bauby suffered a stroke that left him physically paralyzed although mentally acute. The film commences after the stroke, allowing many of the character's secondary experiences to be overlooked, the nuances that, if seen, would have allowed the viewer to enter Bauby's world more fully. From the onset of the narrative the filmmaker, Julian Schnabel, allows the viewer to play the role of Bauby. The camera takes the place of the character's eyes causing the atmosphere to become incredibly claustrophobic. The film is too stifling to feel comfortable in and therefore the point-of-view cinematography is distracting. Desperately seeking a change of pace one's frustration is only enhanced by short flashbacks that are too few and far between. At the forty-minute marker one can finally breath a little as Bauby is finally viewed for the first time from the outside.
The accelerated pace is liberating however it comes far too late in the narrative. In the second half of the film select scenes are actually poignant. The most impressionable of these illustrates a conversation between Bauby and his father, nearly one hundred years old and ill himself. The anguish of a father unable to communicate with his son is heartwarming however such a climax is a reminder that the rest of the film fails to render nearly as much sentiment. A beautiful style surfaces as Bauby dictates his autobiography through language made up of eye movements. The depth and imagery of Bauby's words portrays his strength of mind while the slow process of speaking through blinks plays out beneath his narration. Still, as the character states that, "two things are left not paralyzed, my imagination and my memory," one anticipates a series of flashbacks that will lend context to his famed life. Still little is revealed about the character and such subtleties unfortunately deduct from the overall experience instead of enhancing it.