Jean-Dominique Bauby was a young, attractive and intelligent editor for Elle magazine. At the young age of 42, he suffered a massive stroke while driving his son around. He was fully paralyzed, losing all ability to control bodily functions, with the exception of his left eyelid. His impairment is called, "locked-in syndrome." After the doctors sought to find a way to communicate through blinking, he was able to articulate an entire book to a scribe. The film adapts his memoir in a beautiful and captivating way.
The title of the film seems so perfect to me. "The diving bell" to which he refers to, is the prison and suppression he feels within his own body. His mind is perfectly unaltered by the stroke so he must process all of his thoughts without speaking or physically interacting with others. His mind is "the butterfly," which is a beautiful thing that flies freely. “Other than my eye, there are two things that aren’t paralyzed. My imagination and my memory... they are the only two ways I can escape this diving bell.”
I am not normally a fan of films shot in first-perspective, but this one I truly enjoyed. It really allowed for me to get into the mind of the protagonist, and sympathize with his tragic predicament. There is one shot in particular that sticks in my mind; when they must sew his right eye so that it does not go septic. I truly enjoyed the experimental editing and cinematography of this film.
"This is life?" Jean-Dominique Bauby's tale is a tragic one. Throughout the film we see glimpses of his memories intertwined with his present "captivity." He shares some beautiful moments with the people around him. The relationships from his "past life" are put to a test, and we see that even though he is the one paralyzed, everyone around him seems to reflect his suppressed situation. This film is quite a beautiful feat and I recommend it to anyone who has not experienced it.
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