The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a visually stunning film, delivering the tragic story of Jean-Dominique ‘Jean-Do’ Bauby. Mid-career, as editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Do suffers a severe stroke and winds up with ‘locked-in syndrome’, completely paralysed physically (with the exception of his left eyelid) but completely functioning mentally. (The film is based on Jean-Do’s memoirs, written whilst in this paralysed state. Painstakingly, a transcriber would list the letters of the alphabet in order of frequency until Jean-Do blinked for the letter he wanted.)
The cinematography brilliantly perceives Jean-Do’s mental suffering, so that as an audience we engage completely from his perspective. We do not see his deformed physical self until he does. The fleeting reflection of Jean-Do in the windowpane is as much a shock for us as it is he. Director and artist Julian Schnabel handles the camera with the fragmentary potential of his 1980s ceramic paintings. He uses the camera to mirror the mental state of the protagonist. It is refreshing to see a film that utilises the tools of the medium with such vigour.
The story flutters back and forward to reveal the handsome man of Jean-Do’s past, his failed relationships, his regrets and his successes. After the diagnosis, relationships are strained between Jean-Do and old friends and flames, some are lost and others formed as he adjusts to a life completely reliant on others. The performances are understated and uniformly excellent – most heartbreaking is Jean-Do’s father played by Max von Sydow.
Shots intertwine reality with dream and imagination. Voiceover delivers Jean-Do’s developing philosophy on life and what such a loaded word defines. Surreal images, point of view shots and dream sequences deliver us the world as he perceives it. Schnabel avoids sentimentality, nor does he evoke pity for Jean-Do. We witness something else entirely, both tragic and life affirming, a far more honest film than Schnabel’s earlier biopic Basquiat.
A unique film experience and utterly immersive.
