The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

Genre: Drama, Foreign
By Miramax
Directed by Julian Schnabel
Runtime: 112 minutes
Starring Mathieu Amalric (Jean-Dominique Bauby), Emmanuelle Seigner (Céline Desmoulins), Marie-Josée Croze (Henriette Durand), Anne Consigny (Claude), Isaach De Bankolé (Laurent), Max von Sydow (Papinou)



Just when you felt that the world is in your hands, what would you do if you were to wake up one day and realize that you have lost all the power of communication except for the blinking of your left eye? Impossible? Ludicrous?

The above happened to the Editor of Elle Magazine (French edition), Bauby Dominique. Especially for someone like him who seems to have it all, would it be even more tough for someone who used to enjoy the high life, lead a carefree lifestyle and living it up? Based on the true life account of the French Editor, this autobiography was dictated in 200,000 blinks by someone holding on to a placard of the letters of the alphabet, patiently and painfully dictated by the man himself.

The fight for survival is instinctive as with the desire to end one’s life. I salute Bauby’s strong will to carry on his miserable existence of talking to himself, allowing his mind to wander and do things that he is now unable to accomplish. For cases like his, would we condone euthanasia? But if we were to do that, would we be playing God for him? But he has clearly spelt out his desire for “mort” which is death. And if his caregivers had granted him his wish, we would never be able to see the man’s brilliant mind and painful story of his sudden arrest by an unusual condition known as ‘locked-in syndrome’.

Why me? He must have asked. Things happen in random everywhere in the world which brings me to the point of treasuring what we have.

I have to salute the director Julian Schnabel’s determination to get the memoir transformed into a film. A film based on a true story that will touch people’s hearts.

In an interview the director has stated:

"Does it take locked-in syndrome to make a human being conscious, to make others empathize? Do we have to get sick for the angels to appear and help us? . . . This is the story of all of us, who surely do face death and sickness. But if we look, we can find meaning and beauty here. I wanted this film to be a tool, like his book, a self-help device that can help you handle your own death. That's what I was hoping for, that's why I did it."

There is something about the French language and its culture that makes it especially alluring and charming. I can just lose myself with the cadences of the very lyrical French language. It’s as beautiful as listening to music. Yes, I’m a real sucker for anything French and is instantly alert when a new French film were to hit the theatres.

Naturally The Diving Bell and The Butterfly caught my eye way before it was screened in local cinemas. With the accolades piled on this film, it’s a wonder this film did not walk home with any Oscar wins, despite being nominated for Best Director Award in the recent 80th Academy Awards.

Julian Schnabel is a wonder himself, having acquired the French language so that he can film this moving film in French, in his attempt to accurately portray the pains of the protagonist Jean Dominique Bauby, the Editor of Elle, France who was struck with locked-in syndrome while driving his Chevrolet with his son at the young age of 43. When he woke up at the hospital, he could not move any of his muscles except for his left eyelid. And he learnt to use his left eyelid to communicate with the world and tell his story. The story of his internal struggles, his coming to terms with his condition as well as his fantasies of what he could have been doing – only adds to the poignancy of his situation.

I believe there are many people who may not suffer from the ‘lockec-in syndrome’ feeling trapped in their own body, unable to reach out to the world. But seeing the struggles of Bauby and his sheer willpower, it certainly puts me to shame.