The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

     The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is one of those movies that got a lot of buzz during Oscar season a couple of years back. Indie and Foreign. Yeah, it had followers for sure. The premise is of a man that has a stroke and finds himself paralyzed, only able to blink his single eye to communicate. Based on a true story, it follows him on the quest to...um... find what it means to live and be human. Pretty obvious plotline, right?
     I ain't gonna lie, I was feeling a bit trepidatious starting this movie. Clearly, this was not gonna be an easy film to sit through, and often I find that there needs to be a certain mood. But since I rarely find myself in the neighborhood of such a mood, the only way to get watch it is to just barrel through my hesitation and go for it. And it was worth it. Let me harp on presentation. At the very least, the first half of the film is in first-person perspective of the character. You are locked in there with him. It's grueling to be so limited by the camera in a way that is rare in a film and the conceit truly works. Once it leaves from that perspective, it feels like a breath of fresh air, but you still feel how limited the man is in his own body.
      Also, unlike in other movies that take the inspiration for such a viewpoint from video games with horrid results, here it actually fits. Video games are created to simulate stories or act on fictitious events. In movies, this perspective rings false, since we as the audience are not interacting, but remain observers. In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it works PERFECTLY then. We are as trapped as this man is. We as the audience can only observe, as can only Bauby (our protagonist). I think it is no coincidence (and fits into the backstory of Bauby) that the women in this movie are all amazingly beautiful. Achingly beautiful, even. We always see gorgeous females on the big screen and watch our hero gallantly win said beauty(s). But not this time, at least not in such a Hollywood manner. She is as close, and yet as untouchable as we are to her. It's tantalizing and rending.
      That's just smart film-making.
      Bauby goes through the story as you would expect, starting with desperation and his eventual rise to grace. But, it's not so crassly done. The only thing that felt a bit hard pressed is that the movement between despair and grace is too quick. Then again, maybe that actually is how it goes, but it somehow rings false. Bauby just declares, "I have decided to stop pitying myself." Is it that simple? Maybe. There was a lot of hurt, but it was a bit tough to see where the turnaround came. But that's fine. Because the movie is about how one finds meaning in life. You have to DECIDE to get meaning. And Buaby does that, even if the film doesn't show how it came about.
      This is hard movie to watch, but one that is just as hard to dismiss. Watch it for an emotional turn. Do it.

- piecar