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Title: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
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Jean-Dominique Bauby was living the life most people would want to live. He was a successful magazine editor, he had a children that loved him, and women were at his disposal. Then he suffered from a stroke and developed what doctors labeled as locked-in syndrome. For those unaware, locked-in syndrome is a disease that renders the patient almost completely paralyzed, and it’s been described as feeling like the victim is buried alive. Bauby winds up in this condition, unable to do anything except move and blink his left eye. While the state of his health gives him great grief, Bauby would eventually pull himself out of depression and write a memoir of his life entitled “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” which has now been made into a great movie. And yes; it’s a disease movie.
Unlike most disease movies though, where we see the character deteriorating in front of our eyes, the movie begins from the perspective of our protagonist, and stays with that perspective for most of the film. Only when Bauby decides to be grateful for his life do we get to see the world through everyone else’s eyes. Another thing that’s worth noting: Because we see the world through Bauby’s point of view, the movie may make you feel queasy at the beginning. Stick with it though, because wonderful images are not far behind. Though he can only move his eye, as he monologues “aside from my eye, the only things that are free are my memories and my imagination.” As if to prove his point, when he gets sick of his restaurant food, he simply pictures himself eating at one of his favorite restaurants with a beautiful woman by his side.
At times he pictures himself as a butterfly, breaking out of the cocoon that holds him prisoner and exploring the world and it’s wondrous beauties. Some people may criticize that these wonderful images may glorify the disease, but I disagree. Not every person takes getting sick sitting down. While some do accept their fate and prepare for death, others do the best they can with what little health they have left. I think this movie does a great job at making this clear, that while Bauby is a prisoner of his own body, he is also freed from his chains and, in a strange way, may be truly appreciating life for the first time in his life.
Though there have been many movies made of various diseases, I think this is one of the few I’ve seen that gives the audience a deep understanding of what it’s truly like to have to live with it. For most of the film you feel as trapped as Baudy is. Some people even left the theater. Yet it’s also one of the more inspiring movies of the year, with a touching message and a deep understanding of it’s characters and subject matter. Directed brilliantly by Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterflies” is one of the best films of the year. Not only is it one of the best films of the year, chances are you will be taking a hard look at your own life when it is finished, and you may even feel grateful for the life you do have.
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -
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