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.

Based on his memoirs of the same name, this is the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the one-time editor of Elle Magazine who, after a debilitating stroke, became the victim of Locked-In Syndrome- a condition where he was unable to speak, and the only parts of him that worked were his mind and his left eye. To communicate he was forced to slowly and painstakingly blink as people read off the letters that he wanted to use to form sentences. It sounds very tedious and awful, but he manged to write his memoirs using that method, so that is definitely a testament to thew strength of determination and will power. This is a depressing film, but it's not nearly as depressign as I figured it would be. I think it's actually a lot more beautiful and filled with hope and enlightenment, so that takes the edge off. That, and the superb way the story is told gives you more to think about, letting you focus more on how they did it instead of the tragedy of the situation. Schnabel and Janusz Kaminski (the dp) do an excellent job of telling the story, mostly by showing it from Bauby's POV. This is done with unique camera placements, double exposures, and all sorts of cool lenses and other effects. From visual and technical perspectives, this is a real masterpiece. The audience gets to experience things from how Bauby did, and, while it is harrowing it times, you really gain a ton of respect for the man. Besides all the neat techniques, this is still a wonderful piece of work. It's got wonderful cinematography overall (not just he POV stuff), a great story, and some terrific performances, espeically Amalric. This is one of those cases where the fiulm is so dependent on the lead role to carry things that, if he fails, the film fails. Thankfully, Amalric knocks it out of the park. It's a shame he got snubbed at some awards ceremonies though, because he has one of the most challenging and unglamoruous roles here. He was very brave to take this one on, and I have really come to love him as an actor as a result. Give this film a shot. Yeah, it's kinda bleak, and arty, and a bit pretentious, but it really is touching, inspiring, and one hell of a cinematic achievement.