The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly

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Jean-Dominique Bauby died two days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The book’s tone, in Jeremy Leggatt’s translation, is dominated by a sweet, even humorous, lyricism.”— The New York Times Giving the film a surreal feel as though in a dream we witness a collage of memories, imaginations and actual dreams. From this, along with actual visits from loved ones we get an understanding of the man's life before the accident. It is filmed from the stroke victim's point of view. You see exactly what he sees, such as when his eye gets weak and things get blurry. We are also exposed to the man's thoughts as we hear him talking to the people about his feelings and what he wants to say despite being mute, and not being heard by the people. His thoughts give realness to the character and show us that he is still human. He even finds humor in his situation and says, to the nurse that doesn't hear him, "you need to get a sense of humor". One of the scary "sermons" of this based-on-a-true-life story is that most of us take life and all the little things in it, for granted each day.

Several key aspects of Bauby's personal life were fictionalized in the film, most notably his relationships with the mother of his children and his girlfriend. [12] [13] In reality, it was not Bauby's estranged wife who stayed by the patient's bedside while he lay almost inanimate on a hospital bed, it was his girlfriend of several years. [14] Reception [ edit ] Needless to say this was a powerful read. Its popularity is partly due to the fact that this book was made into a successful movie. Me: Everything. Sign me up for everything. After all, I ride at least four elevators a day to work. [Imagine I am really good at mental math here.] That’s 1,040 possibilities each year to lose my mind, literally. Just from elevators! Cannes festival screening review of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". Hollywood Reporter. 22 May 2007.

This is an anti-Hollywood, anti-formula movie. Those have their place, but this is a great antidote to the silly decisions made by inappropriately powerful studio execs.

In 2007, painter and director Julian Schnabel released a film version of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly adapted for the screen by Ronald Harwood. It starred Mathieu Amalric as Bauby. Critically acclaimed, the film received the Best Director Prize at Cannes Film Festival, and Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director, as well as four Academy Award nominations.

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. Mathieu Amalric has played the character of Jean with so authentication that it is hard to believe and separate his self from the real character. How I Set the Butterfly Free' Times Online 24 January 2008 (Accessed on 10 March 2008) (subscription required)

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. We see only a blur of images and claustrophobic close-ups that mirror the patient's mental state. We can make out a hospital room and doctors and nurses offering reassuring thoughts. We hear Bauby's words but the doctors do not and we know that while his body isn't functioning, his mind is as sharp as ever. With the help of a speech therapist (Marie-Josée Croze), and a very patient transcriber, a code is developed that allows Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), called Jean-Do by his friends and family, to compose a book based on his experience. i really disliked this book i suppose because it has gained such an good reputation . this is mis-lit at its worst . Beyond the brilliant performances by Mathieu Amallic as Bauby, Max von Sydow as his 92-year-old father, and Emmanuelle Seigner as his longtime girlfriend, among others, special recognition must surely go to editor Juliette Welfling and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Spielberg's preferred cameraman) for the various miracles they have wrought in bringing this tightrope-walking tour-de-force to the screen. 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. In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young children, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem.The story definitely falls into the "truth is stranger than fiction" category. Jean-Dominique Bauby was a 43-year-old writer and editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine when, in 1995, he suffered a massive stroke that left him completely paralyzed in all but his left eye. Confined to a bed and a wheelchair and unable to speak or move, all Bauby could do was look out on the world around him without any real hope of ever being able to communicate beyond a simple batting of the eyelid in response to a string of "yes or no" questions. However, thanks to the ingenuity of one of his therapists, Bauby eventually found a way - by painstakingly spelling out each word one letter at a time - to not only communicate fully with those around him but to actually dictate an entire best-selling book with the use of his one eye. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014 . Retrieved 4 April 2022.