Sounds pretty morose, doesn’t it? But, The Diving Belland the Butterfly is actually quite an optimistic story. The title comesfrom the two extremes Bauby experienced. When focused in on his condition, it was like being encased in a massivesteel diving suit. But, when hemoved beyond his physical reality into his imagination, he was like abutterfly, able to go wherever he wanted freely.
The device that makes the film work so well is that much ofit, and all of the first part, is shot from Bauby’s perspective. Director Julian Schnabel (Oscarnomination for best direction) wanted viewers to experience what it was like tobe in Bauby’s situation. Thecharacters interacting with Bauby are right up in the camera; most affecting isa scene where a doctor is sewing together the lids on Bauby’s right eye and wehave an inside-the-head perspective on the slit closing.
Bauby is seen, eventually, and he’s played by MathieuAmalric. We see him in both hiscurrent condition, and in flashbacks to his healthier, happier life. There’s a particularly touching scenebetween him and his father, played by Max von Sydow. The older man has only limited mobility due to age, and intheir scene together, the son is shaving the father. It’s a beautifully acted, underplayed moment that sets up aneven more moving scene later.
While mute to the outside world, we hear Bauby’s thoughtsthroughout the film. When othercharacters were playing to the camera, Amalric was in a small area immediatelyoff-set, watching and reacting, ad libbing much of his dialogue. Which reminds me, important point: the film is entirely in French, withEnglish subtitles. Schnabel choseto film in France, in the very hospital and grounds where Bauby actually spentmost of his time after the stroke, and having made that decision, Schnabel alsochose to do the whole thing in French. (The only time that’s at all off-putting is when Bauby is spelling outwords with his blinks; if you happen to speak French, you’ll realize prettyquickly that the words aren’t made up of the actual letters … he’s spelling inFrench, but you’re looking at the English translation of the words themselves.)
This film is about the ability of a man to make the most ofhis very dire circumstances. Ofcourse, he has help. The two mostprominent caretakers are Henriette (Marie-Josée Croze), who develops the methodfor spelling out the words, and Claude (Anne Consigny), to whom the book isdictated. Both are captivated byBauby despite his affliction and appearance.
The other woman who stands by him is Céline (EmmanuelleSeigner), the mother of his three children (though not his wife). They had been separated for severalmonths at the time of his stroke because he had left her for another woman,Inés. Unlike the others, Inés is afactor by virtue of her absence; she can’t bring herself to visit Bauby.
Besides the two nominations already mentioned, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly wasalso nominated for Oscars for cinematography and editing, and very deserving ofboth. This is a meticulously shot,beautifully put together film, and the kind of story that lingers with you.
One of the special features goes into detail on how thecinematography was handled, and it’s quite interesting. There’s also a more general making-offeaturette, and an interview of Schnabel by Charlie Rose, that gets into moreof Schnabel’s personal reasons for making the film and what it meant tohim. And, there’s an optionalcommentary track with Schnabel.
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in French, withEnglish and Spanish options. Subtitle options are English, French and Spanish. (As noted, the defaultis French language with English subtitles.) This film also has a lovely soundtrack that nearly matchesthe cinematography.
The Diving Bell andthe Butterfly brings to life one of the few books to give a glimpse insidethe world of a massive stroke victim. And, it does it with heart and true artistry.