Review of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) by Dawdlingpoet — 21 Nov 2021

I found this movie fascinating, although a bit hard to watch in parts, mainly when they sewed up one of his eyes much against his wishes which, of course, they couldn't hear. You can only imagine how incredibly frustrating and upsetting it must have been, being stuck there in a bleak/bland hospital rather in the middle of nowhere, a town that he wasn't much keen on, not being able to communicate minus via a one blink for yes and two blinks for no system.

He has speech therapists who are very enthusiastic about helping him 'speak' and communicate, although he initially doesn't share their enthusiasm, particularly after believing his physical state is temporary and then having to deal with the shock of seeing himself in a mirror. What makes this movie (or/and the book its based on) really work, I feel, is the dialogue - his sarcasm/wit as he narrates the movie, us as viewers hearing what he's thinking while paralysed. He's clearly a witty person and its interesting how he interprets things and his, sometimes particularly strong, reactions to the situations and environments he's placed in. As well as this, we learn alot about him prior to the accident that caused his stroke/paralysis, which of course helps us understand more about his viewpoints.

It really is one of those movies that make you count your blessings and I found it interesting to see how the movie developed. Of course there's the worry that it'll be far too depressing, of course this isn't a movie that would strike many people as being very positive, although I can't help but feel like there is an element about it that is somewhat uplifting - the narration and his take on certain things brought me to this conclusion.

Something I haven't mention so far is, of course, the fact that this movie is French, so of course you have to rely on subtitles in order to understand it (and yes, I'm sure it'd be possible to make some witty remark about being able to understand the movie in the same way as the characters in the movie struggle to communicate with the main character) but I didn't find this to be a big problem really. I've seen a few movies in other languages, this one I found the subtitles were somehow less tiresome and complicated to keep track of, if that makes sense. I suppose alot of it is visual based and less of it is dependent on catching (or more reading) every word that appears, I feel.

The scenes that come from his imagination, (which is one of only 3 elements that he has the use of, the other two being his memory and his one remaining eye) are quite intriguing and I like how, as the movie continues, we learn little by little about him, not only his personal background but about his family and partner and also in the present time, we learn the different reactions from his different friends and relatives who learn of his condition and how both they and him react to this.

To summarise, it is quite thought provoking and while it provides some uncomfortable viewing in parts, there is a nice element of optimism somehow which isn't in a patronising way, and I found it overall quite poignant, making a compelling and intriguing watch, so yes I'd say that it was a well made movie which I would recommend to others.