The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is a masterful film. It immediately entered my Top 5 of 2007, along with two other films this week (No Country, The Savages).
However, the advertising, like for the Savages, is misleading. It doesn't spend much time being a trippy, imaginative adventure, as the trailers suggest. Instead, it is about entrapment. Even when it does venture out into that trippy, beautifully filmed world, it doesn't stay there for long. There are scenes that captivate the audience....but they end with a jolt. We are unhappy. This makes th film less enjoyable, but also a better, truer endeavor.
Direction, cinematography and acting were all perfect. Also some nice, unexpected humor.


A+

One of my two A+'s of 2007.

Bumping because I think it's getting a small expansion.
Anyways, even though I gave this an A- at first, it's definitely up to at least an A and in my Top 3 of the year (although I have a strange feeling it could end at #1). I've never had a movie maintain such a presence in my mind for so long. I swear, I must think about it at leas 10 times a day.

Just a little tip:
I got to my screening a little late, and was forced to sit up front. Although uncomfortable, I think it added to the visceral reality of the film. This combined with Schnabel's magnificent direction really made me understand the raw emotion it conveyed. So sit close for once.

After listening to the incredible soundtrack again (3 of the best tracks of the year: Theme For The Diving Bell & Butterfly, Don't Kiss Me Goodbye and La Mer), this has just become my #1 of 2007. I've never had a film resonate with me like this. It's crazy.

Updated the title to English in case people search for it.

Similar to another recent theater viewing (Atonement), I thought the direction was impeccable and the acting generally great, but I was somehow left unstirred. (Is that a word? It's not giving me a squiggly, so I'll go with it.)

I'll let it stew a little and give more thoughts then. For now, I say B+.

OMG

Very rarely does a film come along that has the ability to change the way you look at the world. Most projects have an initial effect on the viewer, but it is a feeling that is shaken shortly after leaving the theater. Most films that do achieve this feat go on to become classics, with the most recent example being Alfonso Cuaron's criminally underappreciated Children Of Men. This year, the best example is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a film that is so profoundly powerful and moving that it will be hard to forget long after you leave the theater. Director Julian Schnabel's sumptuous, compelling masterpiece is not only one of the year's best movies, but a true work of art that should be cherished for years and years to come.

The story follows Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), the successful editor of Elle Magazine whose prosperous life is changed forever after suffering from a stroke. Paralyzed from head to toe with the rare "locked-in syndrome," Bauby's only form of communication is through his left eye - the only fully functional part of his body that still remains. Initially hopeless about his condition, Bauby decides to stop pitying himself and do something with his time left in this world - deciding to write a memoir about his experiences. The feat seems impossible, but thanks to a technique developed by kind speech therapist Henriette (Marie-Josee Croze), he is able to dictate each word through blinking - with an individual reciting the alphabet over and over until the appropriate letter is mentioned. In addition, Bauby finds himself retreating into his imagination and past memories for inspiration, while also attempting to make amends with his estranged ex-girlfriend (Emmanuelle Seigner), their three children, and his father (Max Von Sydow), who also suffers from a disability.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is truly a feast for the eyes. Schnabel delivers what is easily the most innovative, visually stunning film of the year - with every frame proving to be consistently captivating. The entire film is told from Bauby's point of view, and the filmmaking techniques reflect this. We see what he sees, hear what he hears, and experience what he is experiencing. This dreamy, hypnotic method makes the project all the more effective. Every camera angle is creative, a rarity for a major motion picture. Although the flashback sequences utilize standard filmmaking techniques, they are still equally impressive and also employ the feeling that we are in Bauby's shoes throughout. This is easily the best direction of the year without any question, and a film that should be remembered for how stunning the work is overall. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood, who previously won an Academy Award for the Holocaust drama The Pianist, is absolutely brilliant. The film is surprisingly quite amusing, something that might come as unexpected based on the subject matter. But the film is also equally heartbreaking, with some lines of dialogue likely to affect even the most cynical individual.

The soundtrack and musical score also deserve mention, for both are equally great. The musical selections perfectly fit with each sequence, and the wide range of artists on display - from Joe Strummer to U2 - all give the film a haunting, melancholic feel. The particular track "Don't Kiss Me Goodbye" by Ultra Orange and Emmauelle is used to perfection in one of the film's best sequences, and should serve as an example of how a soundtrack can be used successfully. The musical score by Paul Cantellon is absolutely beautiful and haunting, giving the film an appropriate mood and making many scenes even more devestating.

The performances are wonderful across the board. Although the bulk of his performance consists of narration, Mathieu Amalric delivers a brilliant, convincing performance - so spot-on that it feels at times as if you are watching the actual events unfold. When he plays the character as a paralyzed individual, the greatness of his performance is really shown, for he is able to convey so many emotions through his eyes alone. Emmanuelle Seigner is also great and delivers a heartfelt, emotional performance. The two standouts in the cast, though, are Marie-Josee Croze and Max von Sydow. As the caring speech assistant, Croze creates an instantly lovable character that the audience can sympathize with, and she is incredibly touching and endearing throughout. And although he only has two scenes, Sydow delivers what is possibly the year's most heartbreaking performance. The scene in which he talks to his paralyzed son is one of the most devestating, powerful movie moments in quite some time. One thing that is unique about this film is that you truly forget you are watching actors onscreen. These performers become their characters in every sense of the word.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a masterpiece. There is not a flaw to be found within its powerful narrative, and everything about it equates to perfection. It's impeccably directed and written, flawlessly acted and easily one of the most powerful films to come along in quite some time. It's tragic and inspiring all at the same time - really making you think about the things you take for granted in life and how they can all be taken away in an instant. This is a beautiful portrait of what hope and inspiration can truly accomplish, and a movie that will not soon be forgotten.

10/10 (A+)

Tompsoncory - I always enjoy your reviews. The film sounds brilliant. It just shot to the top of my must see list!

oh and BTW - can you put in the Top 6 or 7 films in your sig - as Stardust has sadly dropped off the list

Thanks! It was easy to write one for this film because I felt so passionate about it. And re-added Stardust to my signature as well. It's appropriate, since those six films are the only ones I awarded an A+ to last year.

It sounds impressive. I'll definitely go see it when it comes out here.

And thanks for the Stardust re-add - it deserves it!

The soundtrack to this movie is AMAZING.

It's finally showing at Santana Row on Friday.

.,.

It's really, really great, btw.

Yes! Wonderful!
Now some more of you please go see this film please and see why it got such unprecedented guild and critical support for a film of it's size.

Its artistic and novel but otherwise I dunno...................................I'll have to watch it again, I feel it deserves another view before I give a full review.

This is a film I was eagerly anticipating to see and was not disapointed once the wait was over. Everything from the performances to the soundtrack were exquisitly done. With the only flaw I could find is that it reminded me of an equally powerful film I'd seen four years ago called Mar adentro (the Sea Inside) so I kept mentally comparing the two, which kept me from fully enjoying this great film, which is my fault and not the directors.

Grade B++

Just got back from this a little while ago. I understand completely the reason it received such massive critical acclaim...it undeniably deserves it. The directing for this is magnificant. I was literally flawed at how well it flew from scene to scene, with camerawork that left me wondering how the fuck did they pull that off? The real standout as far as acting goes is Max von Sydow, displaying an incredible range in his very limited screentime. He had me in tears at the end of his telephone conversation with his son. The amazing thing about this movie is that the character bonds are as strong as ever, with one half not being able to speak at all. Words aren't necessary all the time, or rather, verbal language isn't always necessary. It is quite remarkable that this is a true story, when you think of the time and patience taht had to go in to dictating the book. I have a very strong desire to read the book now, but I know I wont have the time right now. If anything were to upset the Coens, this would be my pick. I hope it wins Cinematography, to be honest.

A

Original review from: 24 January 2008

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: Opportunity Lost

Great true story, overdone direction.

A bit of the POV stuff was great to start off (the eye sewing scene was especially horrifying), but then this film devolves into a whole retrospective of 1970's art film technique. Yawn. If it wasn't for the high quality acting, this would have been so indulgent as to be unwatchable. In a talented director's hands this could have been an awesome film, as it is, it is a great story trapped in a paralyzed shell of a movie.

2 out of 5.

Worst pun ever.

Finally! I can't be completely secure and comfortable about this being the best movie of 2007!

Just saw it.

A sterling example of a filmmaker committing to his aesthetic and sticking with it, for better or worse. The camera tells most of the story and encapsulates most of the films emotions. While this sometimes creates a curious detachment from the piece as whole, it makes for several truly chilling and powerful moments. This is a movie that gets better the further away you get from it. Like snack said earlier, it is not the trippy-dippy kaleidoscope of fantasy the trailer sells it as, and is instead a fairly realistic and harsh look at a man entombed in his own body. Schnabel creates this world vividly (almost too vividly), shooting most of the film POV and employing disorienting and uncomfortable filters, lighting, and editing. If you can handle the emotional and psychological pummeling a story like this inflicts, it is well worth it to see an artist have total control over a piece and tell it the way they want, and maybe the way it should, be told.

It's undeniably powerful and beautiful, but I almost wish it had more balls. The opening scenes with the nearly unbearable point-of-view is so intense and remarkable and original that part of me really wanted it to remain like that for the entire film, perhaps with a few surreal dream sequences interspersed. As difficult and frustrating as an entirely POV film would be, I kinda wanted one when the film began. Instead, the POV is slowly phased out, and the film became more of a Godard/WKW love child, though it's not nearly as interesting or original as that image implies. Though I can understand what the film was going for, with the dream sequences breaking out of the prison that the rest of the film was trapped in, this really would've worked better had all the hospital scenes been strictly POV, which they were not. The juxtaposition between the uncomfortable, interior, present scenes and the alive, colourful, past scenes is key to what the film's going for, and I think it just missed the mark by chickening out and not going all out on the POV.

Still, it's an innovative, imaginative ride, despite its rather depressing story.

That would have been interesting, I guess. But like, I dunno. If the film was like those first twenty or thirty or whatever minutes throughout, I dunno that I wouldve made it through. I found it incredibly intense, almost to the point of physical discomfort (or psychological anxiety, anyway). I think they opened it up at just about the perfect time.