The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Release Date:
November 30, 2007
Limited release
Movie of the Day for Tuesday, November 20, 2007
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On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 83/214 |
Max Braden |
I think this would have been better just left as a short film. The tone was too matter of fact for me to get into. |
Winner of Best Director and Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival (as well as a nominee for the Palme d’Or), The Diving Bell and Butterfly is hoping to be make a few waves during the run up to the Academy Awards.
Based on a memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby, a French journalist and editor of Elle magazine, the story looks at what happened to the man when he suffered a massive stroke while in his early 40s. The stroke left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome, which means that his only means of communicating was through blinking his left eyelid.
At points, the movie’s images are presented from Bauby’s point of view, with the audience seeing his blinking patterns as the screen goes black for short periods of time. The movie was filmed in French, with director Julian Schnabel specifically learning the language to more successfully translate the story to the big screen. Ronald Harwood, who won an Oscar for his adapted screenplay for The Pianist, handled the script. The French cast is mostly unknown in North America, but with the early attention the film is receiving, that could change. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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