Directed by Julien Schnabel

Written by Ronald Harwood and Jean Dominique Bauby

Starring Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuel Seigner

Released by Pathe

Available at Amazon for $18.99 from April 28th 2008.

Available at Play for 12.99 from June 9th 2008.

Review by Ray DeRousse

FILM:

DVD:

Rarely do we see a film that functions both as a dramatic narrative and a work of art; when one is made, it is often overlooked in its day. Such is the case with Julien Schnabel’s criminally-ignored instant masterpiece The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.

THE FILM

The film is based on the autobiographical memior of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the one-time editor of Elle magazine who, at the age of 43, suffered a massive stroke that left him completely paralyzed. He had only the use of his left eye. The book of the same name was written in a painstaking manner, with every letter blinked out to his to his patient nurses for transcription. The entire novel required 200,000 blinks to “write,” in the process easily shaming the hundreds of thousands of so-called writers who every year make myriad excuses for the incompletion of their masterpieces.

Director Schnabel uses radical photographic techniques to mimic how Bauby experienced the world in his condition. The flipping shots, double-exposures, and radical points of view enhance our understanding of Bauby’s suffering and torment. In truth, Schnabel’s direction here is the strongest performance of 2007, and possibly deserving of the Oscar over the Coen Brothers. From a purely visual perspective, Schnabel’s work is breathtaking, decorating this haunting and desperate story with wondrously illuminating flashes of light and darkness. Truly a masterpiece.

In the title role, Mathieu Amalric has the unenviable task of carrying an entire performance with the expression of one eye, yet he pulls it off. Displaying more raw emotion in one blink than Lindsay Lohan is capable of in five kharmic lifetimes, Amalric manages to reveal the terrified man trapped within the walls of this physical prison.

Much of the weight of Amalric’s performance is transferred into the performances of the actors around him, who primarily reflect this tragedy on their faces. Best among them is Emmanuel Seigner as Celine, the tender nurse who patiently records Bauby’s blinks and functions as his muted voice. Max Von Sydow, a cinematic treasure, exposes raw emotion as Bauby’s estranged father who refuses to see his son in his final days.

If ther eis a complaint, it comes only from being a dumb, monolingual American: it’s difficult to initially understand the words Bauby is spelling out with his eye, since the French accent makes it difficult to hear. The subtitles do not spell out the words directly as Bauby spells them, creating a lapse in understanding what he is trying to say. However, this is a very minor complaint. In fact, the French language adds much to the rich and artistic air that infuses this film.

Most people skipped this movie in the theaters, either due to the subtitles, or the difficult and depressing subject matter. However, do not let that deter you from witnessing this extraordinary film. Last year saw many monumental instant-classics, and this film is very near the top of that list. Its a stunning, gut-wrenching, uncomfortable artistic triumph.

EXTRAS

While mostly of the typical “making of” variety, these extras give some fascinating behind-the-scenes details.

Submerged: The Making of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Features a lot of nice interviews and on-set glimpses. It shows the real-life hospital where Bauby spent his last days, and some nice insights by the actors regarding how the performances were constructed.

A Cinematic Vision – I loved this look at the techniques Schnabel used to create the wild, kaleidescopic visuals in the film.

Audio Commentary by Julian Schnabel – The director seems like a humble man, and he comes across as such here. His continued enthusiasm for this project shows here as well, as he goes into depth about the revolutionary techniques he successfully used for this film.

Charlie Rose interviews Julian Schnabel – This really shows how thoughtful Schnabel is as a person and a director.

OVERALL

Do you like real movies at all? Do you want quality films shown ever again? Do you want art rather than commerce? Go buy this DVD immediately, and spread the word.