Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) has suffered a massive stroke at the young age of 42 and after waking up from a twenty-two day long coma now has what is called locked-in syndrome. This means he is completely paralyzed, with the exception of his left eye. His only way of communication is via blinking. In this condition he dictates a memoir about his life and the condition he finds himself in. A typist reads out a frequency-ordered alphabet and Bauby blinks when he wants to use a letter. The film is based on the real book by the real Jean-Dominique Bauby.

Julian Schnabel took Bauby’s memoir Le Scaphandre et le Papillon, which was published in France in 1997, and made a beautiful film out of it. It was adapted for the screen by Oscar-winning writer Ronald Harwood (who also wrote the screenplays to films such as The Pianist, Being Julia and Love in the Time of Cholera). Schnabel has only directed three other films: Basquiat, the much acclaimed Before Night Falls and Berlin.

The film starts from Bauby’s point of view. The audience only sees what he can see through his eye, which creates the illusion of having locked-in syndrome. The effect is astounding: it made me want to get out of his head and see his face. This was finally granted after about 15 minutes into the film. What a relief. Slowly the story of Bauby’s life before the stroke gets introduced. He used to be the editor of the French magazine Elle. After leaving his wife and kids he got himself a new girlfriend who now refuses to visit him at the hospital. His ex-wife comes to visit very often and even brings the kids after a while. There are other visitors who deal with the situation in different ways.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is extremely moving and Mathieu Amalric’s acting is extraordinary. The story deliberately unfolds slowly, giving a good impression of the time Bauby spent in the hospital: his struggle to accept his disease and the help his doctors and friends are trying to give him (such as using the alphabet as a way of communication) and the long time it takes until he starts to believe in life again. It is quite late into the film that he begins to dictate his memoir, which takes minutes for every sentence. Watching the film is a very emotional experience. It is made in such a way that the audience is really re-living his horrible ordeal.

Even though this sounds rather negative I strongly recommend this film. I watched it for the first time last year at the Cannes Film Festival (where Schnabel won the Best Director’s award) and just couldn’t wait for the DVD to come out so I could watch it again. Cinematically it is remarkably well done and the story is phenomenally touching.

Originally the film was planned to be made in English with Johnny Depp as Bauby, but after Universal Pictures withdrew it was made in France with a French cast. I feel that this was a good move. I love Johnny Depp, but I don’t think he would have been right for this role at all. Although he is a great actor and I’m sure he could have pulled it off, I think that he has been in too many comedies and adventure films to play such a tragic role. The film wouldn’t have gotten the proper respect it deserves. Instead hordes of teenagers would have gone to watch it, just to see Depp in his latest role. The film is perfect the way it is now.

Le Scaphandre et le Papillon is being awarded the MovieCat Award for its cinematic beauty.