Blinking Hell (The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (DVD))

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (DVD)
Date:	26/06/09 (221 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Engaging performances and impressive cinematography.

Disadvantages: Bono singing in the middle bit.

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon) is a French language film made in 2007. The film went on to receive four Oscar nominations and won both Festival de Cannes and Golden Globe awards for best director as well as a Bafta award for best adapted screenplay. With so many awards and so many positive critical reviews my suspicions were raised... so I had to watch it.

Synopsis and Cinematography
When Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) suffers a sudden stroke he becomes completely paralysed apart from the ability to move his left eye and eyelid - a condition labelled as "locked-in syndrome". His mental faculties remain fully intact and with the help of a speech therapist he slowly learns to communicate. The method of communication however, is a slow and tedious one. His therapist reads out a sequence of letters arranged according to frequency of use and he blinks when a particular letter is spoken. Blinking letter by letter allows his therapist to write down what he wants to say. In such a manner Bauby was able to write the book upon which the film is based.

The cinematography is well constructed and one can appreciate the amount of research and hard graft that went into the portrayal of Bauby's condition and the representation of his world. The use of the original location where Bauby was hospitalised was another plus factor as it not only provides some stunning scenery but also adds an extra sense of authenticity. For long periods we only see the world through Bauby's one eye and the voice we hear is Bauby's own internal monologue. Director Julian Schnabel's artistic expertise allows us to get a sense of the helplessness and frustrations of the patient's world and his lamentable condition. There are some delightful and moving scenes in which we get to share in some of his physically challenged frustrations such as when friends and colleagues ineffectively try to communicate with him or hospital workers ignore him and turn off the TV in the middle of a football game. Even when a fly lands on his nose he is helpless.

It is only through memory and imagination that Bauby obtains freedom and the director effectively uses these concepts to transport us outside Bauby's physically restricted world. This allows the film to take on a less morbid and more optimistic slant. In this manner we get to share in some of Bauby's fantasies and witness past episodes from his life; at his workplace directing a fashion shoot, walking with his girlfriend and in conversation with his father. There are many touching scenes throughout the film. In particular when Bauby meets up with his three children and realises he will never be able to hug them again. Such moments of emotional intensity are balanced throughout by Bauby's dry humour - effectively delivered by Amalric.

Performances
There were good performances from all the cast. Mathieu Amalric plays the lead character efficiently and Max Von Sydow as Bauby's father puts in a notable performance. I was impressed most of all though by Emmanuelle Seigner who somewhat steals the show in the role of Celine - Bauby's wife. However, this role has sparked significant controversy in that, according to many of Bauby's friends and colleagues, it was his girlfriend who visited him in hospital everyday and not his wife. This means that probably the most poignant scene in the film - where his wife, during a hospital visit, has to interpret her husband's words to his girlfriend on the telephone - is pure fabrication.

Regarding the actors, one thing that irritated me was the amount of stunningly beautiful women surrounding Bauby. I felt this somewhat trivialised the story. I can except the fact that Bauby may have had a gorgeous girlfriend called Ines (Agathe de La Fontaine) as well as a pretty wife but it was a bit far fetched to see Bauby's receiving therapy and having his bed ridden needs attended to by two slim attractive nurses; Henriette Roi (Marie-Josée Croze) and Marie Lopez (Schnabel's wife - Olatz López Garmendia) - no wonder he thought he was dreaming (his original less exotic looking nurse does appear briefly in the film and is glimpsed when he first opens his eyes in hospital and is seen later tucking him into bed). Bauby further benefits from the assistance of another pretty mademoiselle: Claude Mendibil (Anne Consigny) who is hired to take dictation for his book.

Sound Track
Possible the biggest downside of the movie for me was the abhorrent soundtrack. The theme of the sea is used throughout the movie but I thought the use of Charles Trenet singing 'La Mer' in the opening title sequence was a little tacky and far too predictable. However, it was the inclusion of the other tracks that had me almost throwing up overboard. Apart from the main instrumental theme tune, the various musical interludes added nothing to the film and detracted from the seriousness and poignancy of the story. Tom Waits singing - All the World Is Green was bearable but if I ever hear U2 on another movie sound track I swear I'm going to kick in the TV screen. As soon as I heard Bono's voice on 'Ultra Violet (Light My Way)' I was sticking my finger down my throat and reaching for the sick bucket. The inclusion of these songs was clearly nothing more than a marketing strategy to enable the production of a musical soundtrack CD.

Extras
For film enthusiasts an interview with the director Schnabel and his own commentary should provide plenty of interesting insight into the techniques used to create some of the images and scenes where the film was shot. In the commentary Schnabel gives plenty of background information on the main actors and the challenges they had to undertake such as, for long periods, having to look directly into the camera and act rather than look at another actor. His explanation of how some of the visual effects used to imitate Bauby's vision of the world were also insightful. However, his commentary style is slow and tedious and at times I found his speech rather muffled with some words almost inaudible, almost as if he microphone was being held intermittently too far away from his mouth.

Recommendation
Although I really wanted to love this film, in the end it didn't grip me as much as I would have liked. I would have preferred a greater sense of horror at the beginning of the film: the realisation of being totally paralysed must be a dreadful experience and I just felt it came across as a bit too light hearted. I also wanted to feel a greater sense of tragedy at the end. No doubt some did, but for me this never came across. Maybe it was because I never felt that much empathy for the lead character portrayed in the film. On the other hand, I didn't find the film depressing and I appreciated the positive messages of hope and perseverance.

Despite the soundtrack turning part of the film into a clichéd pop video, for the most part it manages to avoid being over sentimental. I would argue that the film does suffer somewhat from a 'Hollywood' effect. I was unaware of the director's nationality whilst watching the movie but it made sense when I learnt afterwards that he was an American. So although I don't regard The Diving Bell and the Butterfly as the classic masterpiece that some make out, with some superb cinematography and engaging performances, it's certainly a film that's well worth catching.

Summary: Not the classic masterpiece that some acclaim but still worth watching.