The Diving Bell and the Butterfly2007
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Photos
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Cast
as Jean-Dominique Bauby
as Celine Desmoulins
as Claude
as Papinou
as Henriette Roi
as Dr. Lepage
as Roussin
as Father Lucien/Shopkeeper
as Joséphine
as Marie Lopez
as Laurent
as Dr. Cocheton
as Théophile
as Céleste Bauby
as Hortense Bauby
as Empress Eugenie
as Dr. Mercier
as Nijinski
as Betty
as Madame Bauby
as Joubert
as Nijinski
as Fourneau
as Inès
as Paul
as Diane
as Nursing Auxiliary 2
as Young Jean-Dominque
as Fisherman
as Young Papinou
as Nurse
as Model
as Himself
as Auxiliary Nurse 1
as Himself
as Night Nurse
as Himself
as Himself
as Herself
as Paraplegic at Lourdes
as Violinist
as Model
as Model
as Jean-Baptiste Mondino's Assistant
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Critic Reviews for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
All Critics (166) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (156) | Rotten (10) | DVD (10)
What's fascinating is that it is the very restrictions the story imposes on a director that allow Schnabel to turn it into such an eerie stunner of a movie.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is one of the best movies of 2007, but I'd argue it's also the one most in tune with what this season of goodwill and tolerance is supposed to be all about.
An exquisite metaphor for the redemptive power of cinema. Without an ounce of cheap sentiment, this true story is as profoundly moving and dreamily beautiful as any film in recent memory.
It's a subject and a film that perfectly blends the tragic with the triumphant.
Profoundly moving.
Director Julian Schnabel uses his skill as a painter to assemble a collage of fantastical images to reveal the exquisite physical wreck that Bauby has become.
Audience Reviews for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
One of the most stunning emotional knockouts recorded in cinematic history concerning an editor (Mathieu Amalric) who suffers a massive stroke, but remains determined to write his memoirs of his experiences through communicating with the only part of his body that isn't paralyzed, one of his eyes, to an aide. What director Julian Schnabel has constructed is an unnerving, extremely personal masterpiece in struggling to overcome an affliction, and the self-doubts, guilt, anger, and fleeting hope one encounters along the way. The acting is very good, although that is not what is most impressive about the film, which is how it is told through Amalric's character's perspective, showing just how much of a struggle something like this can be. While it is relentlessly sad, it is powerful and incredibly moving all the way through. This is a movie that should be a must-see for anyone who knows someone dealing with a stroke or some other kind of physical ailment. It does a flawless job capturing the emotional cycle and inner-thoughts of someone who deals with it, somehow, someway.
Super Reviewer
Bold first-person film-making reigns in this true story that reminds us that our lives can be changed completely at any given moment: a well-to-do magazine editor suffers a stroke and becomes paralyzed save for the blinking of one eye. Through a therapist's inventive solution - a board of letters starting with those most commonly used - he learns to communicate by answering yes or no to the letters, and thus writes his autobiography. Bit of a one-note film, overall, but touching and shot in creative manner true to the source's autobiographical nature.
Super Reviewer
Terrific! That's the thing I was talking about!
Super Reviewer
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Quotes
| Jean-Dominique 'Jean Do' Bauby: | I've decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed. My imagination, and my memory. |
| Roussin: | Hold fast to the human inside of you, and you'll survive. |
| Jean-Dominique 'Jean Do' Bauby: | We're all children, we all need approval. |
| Jean-Dominique 'Jean Do' Bauby: | A poet once said, "Only a fool laughs when nothing's funny" |