![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Review: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon) (2007)
This was a pretty sad movie. I think it made more of an impact because I knew it was based on a true memoir. If it was fiction, I think I wouldn't have taken it as seriously as I would have.
I thought this movie was okay though. It wasn't a bad movie, but I didn't think there was anything that was a particular draw for the movie except for the fact that it was based on real life.
Spoilers.
Story
The story began with Jean-Dominique waking up in a hospital, where he was told that he had lock-in syndrome. The audience saw things from Jean-Dominique's point of view for the entire movie. At first, Jean-Dominique was pretty frustrated but over time he decided that he might as well try to live life as best as he could. He originally wanted to write a book that would be an adaptation of the Count of Monte Cristo. Instead, he wrote a memoir. A few days after his memoir was published, he passed away due to pneumonia.
There wasn't much of a story to tell, but it was more of Jean-Dominique coming to terms with what his life had become. At first, I thought that Jean-Dominique was a bit of a douche, but I came to understand him more as he came to terms with his life, his past, and the things he'd done.
Production
Cinematography
A lot of the film was shit from a first person perspective of Jean-Dominique. We saw how people would look at him, and I started to understand why Jean-Dominique felt frustrated. A lot of people looked at him with pity or indifference, and it was probably a lot to take in at first. Over time, those looks seemed to soften, as he got used to his new way of communication with those around him.
In addition, Jean-Dominique thought that the communication was kind of dumb because it would take forever to say anything. Over time, he came to accept it, and when he did, we started to see the world from different angles (in addition to his first person perspective).
We also saw how sometimes Jean-Dominique would focus on things in the background, or zone out during conversations, as a sign of Jean-Dominique's mind wandering. I liked that because in reality we don't have perfect memory and don't always pay attention to things or people who are right in front of us as we should.
I admit I started becoming very aware of my own blinking lol. To Jean-Dominique, blinking was his only way of communication and I felt like I had to start being careful of when I blinked too lol.
Characters
My interpretations of these characters are based on how they were portrayed in the movie, and not the real people themselves.
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique was a well-known editor of Elle. Based on the flashbacks we saw of his life, he was probably the kind of guy who got in and out of relationships a lot.
Near the beginning, I thought that Jean-Dominique was kind of unlikeable, but I also understood why he was so miserable. He was frustrated, but also dismissive. He wasn't a fan of what the doctors were telling him, and he thought that Henriette's speaking system was too tedious. He was also pretty focused on the beauty of Henriette and Marie, which I think were traits that he retained from his "past life."
I think things changed when he settled in to his new life. One of his first visitors was Celine, the mother of his children. At the time, Jean-Dominique was in a relationship with Ines, but Celine was the only one who'd been visiting him, and even brought the kids around to see their father.
Jean-Dominique also became more of a family man during the movie. He'd mentioned his relationship with his father. His father had called him and implied that he was extremely sad and helpless, which is something that Jean-Dominique could relate to. He also started to care more for his kids, wondering what they thought of him and wishing he could do more for them.
I think Jean-Dominique realized that he wasn't going to enjoy life the same way that he could before he had his stroke. He narrated that the two things he still had were his imagination and his memory, and so he decided he would use those to the fullest by fulfilling his writing contract and dictating a memoir.
By the end, I think Jean-Dominique was satisfied with what he was able to achieve. It really is a strange coincidence that he died two days after his book was published. But I think that his book was also his last gift to those that he loved during his life.
Celine Desmolins
Celine was the mother of Jean-Dominique's child, but they were never married. She was one of the first people to visit Jean-Dominique. While she was probably surprised about Jean-Dominique's situation, I think she did her best not to pity him, as she probably realized he would've hated that.
Despite Jean-Dominique saying that he didn't want to see the kids (probably because he didn't want them to see him in his current state), she eventually brought them around. This was ultimately a good thing, seeing as how Jean-Dominique did enjoy the company of his kids.
Towards the end of the movie, Celine was a regular visitor, reading the mail to Jean-Dominique, and just spending time with him. I don't think that she necessarily loved Jean-Dominique romantically, but I think she still cared for him as a friend, and she probably knew that it would be good for their children if she tried to help him the best she could.
Claude Mendibil
Claude helped Jean-Dominique by writing down his words while he dictated them. The important thing was that she was patient, because as we saw during the movie, Jean-Dominique's way of speaking was very tedious and time-consuming.
Over time, Claude built a friendship with Jean-Dominique. She even bought him a copy of the Count of Monte Cristo for his birthday and read parts to him.
Henriette Durand
Henriette was the speech therapist who came up with the speaking system for Jean-Dominique. I was reminded of the speaking system for the old man from Breaking Bad, except signalling through blinking was obviously more tiring than pressing a bell in my opinion.
Henriette said that Jean-Dominique was an important patient to her, probably because if she could come up with a successful way for him to communicate, then that would solve a lot of issues for other patients with speaking issues as well.
This was why it was disappointing to her when Jean-Dominique said he wanted to die. She was trying her best here and he didn't realize that she was just trying to help him.
Marie Lopez
Marie was the therapist who would help Jean-Dominique with his mouth movements including swallowing.
She took Jean-Dominique to church one against his will, so we learned that she was a religious women.
Near the end, Jean-Dominique was able to make grunts and move his tongue, but that was the extent of what he could do.
Mr. Bauby Sr.
Before the stroke, Jean-Dominique would visit his father. In the movie, we saw the last time they'd met, in which Jean-Dominique helped his father shave, and talked about the book he was planning on writing.
After the stroke, Mr. Bauby Sr. called once. Without Jean-Dominique around, he felt even more trapped in his apartment. He told Jean-Dominique about his will. I don't know if Mr. Bauby Sr. was seriously considering suicide but it definitely sounded like he was.
Jean-Dominique said that he'd been appreciative of his dad's pride in him, as many kids sought their parents' approval. So I think he did have a good relationship his dad. I think Jean-Dominique and Mr. Bauby Sr. were just sad that they could no longer spend the little time that they had together anymore.
Theopile Bauby
Theo was Jean-Dominique's son. When Jean-Dominique had a stroke, Theo was in the car with him, so it was probably pretty traumatizing for him to see his dad like that.
When Theo first saw his father again, he seemed pretty mature about it, helping his father to wipe saliva at the side of his mouth. We did see him crying into his mother's arms though. From personal experience, I can attest that regardless of how put together you are about a loved one being ill, seeing them completely different from how you remember them is always an emotional experience.
Themes
Women
Before the stroke, I think Jean-Dominique was probably flippant about how he viewed women. I think he objectified them, but also knew that he wasn't treating them well.
When Jean-Dominique had first met Henriette and Marie, he couldn't believe how beautiful they were. He also later had dreams about erotic feasts with Claude, and kissing Empress Eugenie.
Jean-Dominique wanted to write a modern retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo in which the main character was a woman exacting revenge. I think Jean-Dominique knew deep down inside that he wasn't treating women the best, and that it was only a matter of time before they turned on him.
Jean-Dominique was deeply in love with Ines, and I do think it broke his heart that Ines couldn't bear to come see him in the state that he was in. But I think he also understood that a big part of it was sexual attraction and that he couldn't do much for her in his current state.
Instead, Jean-Dominique started to value the friendship and company that the women in his life provided.
I did think it was sketchy that most of the supporting characters in the movie were beautiful women who were extremely focused on his well-being. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
Children
Jean-Dominique didn't have a bad relationship with his dad prior to his stroke. He visited him regularly, and he loved it when his dad told him that he was proud of him.
It seemed that Jean-Dominique only saw his kids occasionally, and that Celine was their main caretaker. Because Jean-Dominique missed his father, I think he realized that he himself wasn't doing a good job of parenting his own kids and giving them the love that they probably wanted and craved.
In the end, the only thing that Jean-Dominique could give his kids was a wish for many butterflies.
Religion
A few of the women in Jean-Dominique's life were very religious. He'd dated a woman who wanted to go to a church in Lourdes. In Lourdes, she really wanted a statue of Mary that had been blessed by a Cardinal. He bought it for her, but he broke up later.
It also annoyed Jean-Dominique when Marie took him to church and asked for him to be blessed even though he didn't want to.
But I think Jean-Dominique came to understand that religion was a coping mechanism for people to find peace with themselves.
Soon after the scene where he went to church with Marie, there was a scene of Jean-Dominique being carried in a pool. I thought it looked like he was getting baptized, like he was getting in touch with his spiritual side because he'd never thought to look within for personal peace.
Title
The diving bell referred to a brass helmet that divers wore. They were extremely heavy, and Jean-Dominique felt that he was trapped underwater in one, where nobody could hear him.
Butterflies referred to his spirit. Its lightweight nature was a contrast against the heavy diving bell. I think it represented Jean-Dominique's new way of understand life. Trapped in his diving bell, he learned to live life differently and find his own butterfly.
In his memoir, Jean-Dominique wished for many butterflies for his children, which I interpret to be him wishing them much peace and happiness in their lives.
Overall
This was a good movie, but of course it was pretty sad, especially knowing the final outcome. But as I mentioned, as a piece of film I didn't find it particularly outstanding. The main draw was the story.
I thought this movie was okay though. It wasn't a bad movie, but I didn't think there was anything that was a particular draw for the movie except for the fact that it was based on real life.
Spoilers.
Story
The story began with Jean-Dominique waking up in a hospital, where he was told that he had lock-in syndrome. The audience saw things from Jean-Dominique's point of view for the entire movie. At first, Jean-Dominique was pretty frustrated but over time he decided that he might as well try to live life as best as he could. He originally wanted to write a book that would be an adaptation of the Count of Monte Cristo. Instead, he wrote a memoir. A few days after his memoir was published, he passed away due to pneumonia.
There wasn't much of a story to tell, but it was more of Jean-Dominique coming to terms with what his life had become. At first, I thought that Jean-Dominique was a bit of a douche, but I came to understand him more as he came to terms with his life, his past, and the things he'd done.
Production
Cinematography
A lot of the film was shit from a first person perspective of Jean-Dominique. We saw how people would look at him, and I started to understand why Jean-Dominique felt frustrated. A lot of people looked at him with pity or indifference, and it was probably a lot to take in at first. Over time, those looks seemed to soften, as he got used to his new way of communication with those around him.
In addition, Jean-Dominique thought that the communication was kind of dumb because it would take forever to say anything. Over time, he came to accept it, and when he did, we started to see the world from different angles (in addition to his first person perspective).
We also saw how sometimes Jean-Dominique would focus on things in the background, or zone out during conversations, as a sign of Jean-Dominique's mind wandering. I liked that because in reality we don't have perfect memory and don't always pay attention to things or people who are right in front of us as we should.
I admit I started becoming very aware of my own blinking lol. To Jean-Dominique, blinking was his only way of communication and I felt like I had to start being careful of when I blinked too lol.
Characters
My interpretations of these characters are based on how they were portrayed in the movie, and not the real people themselves.
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique was a well-known editor of Elle. Based on the flashbacks we saw of his life, he was probably the kind of guy who got in and out of relationships a lot.
Near the beginning, I thought that Jean-Dominique was kind of unlikeable, but I also understood why he was so miserable. He was frustrated, but also dismissive. He wasn't a fan of what the doctors were telling him, and he thought that Henriette's speaking system was too tedious. He was also pretty focused on the beauty of Henriette and Marie, which I think were traits that he retained from his "past life."
I think things changed when he settled in to his new life. One of his first visitors was Celine, the mother of his children. At the time, Jean-Dominique was in a relationship with Ines, but Celine was the only one who'd been visiting him, and even brought the kids around to see their father.
Jean-Dominique also became more of a family man during the movie. He'd mentioned his relationship with his father. His father had called him and implied that he was extremely sad and helpless, which is something that Jean-Dominique could relate to. He also started to care more for his kids, wondering what they thought of him and wishing he could do more for them.
I think Jean-Dominique realized that he wasn't going to enjoy life the same way that he could before he had his stroke. He narrated that the two things he still had were his imagination and his memory, and so he decided he would use those to the fullest by fulfilling his writing contract and dictating a memoir.
By the end, I think Jean-Dominique was satisfied with what he was able to achieve. It really is a strange coincidence that he died two days after his book was published. But I think that his book was also his last gift to those that he loved during his life.
Celine Desmolins
Celine was the mother of Jean-Dominique's child, but they were never married. She was one of the first people to visit Jean-Dominique. While she was probably surprised about Jean-Dominique's situation, I think she did her best not to pity him, as she probably realized he would've hated that.
Despite Jean-Dominique saying that he didn't want to see the kids (probably because he didn't want them to see him in his current state), she eventually brought them around. This was ultimately a good thing, seeing as how Jean-Dominique did enjoy the company of his kids.
Towards the end of the movie, Celine was a regular visitor, reading the mail to Jean-Dominique, and just spending time with him. I don't think that she necessarily loved Jean-Dominique romantically, but I think she still cared for him as a friend, and she probably knew that it would be good for their children if she tried to help him the best she could.
Claude Mendibil
Claude helped Jean-Dominique by writing down his words while he dictated them. The important thing was that she was patient, because as we saw during the movie, Jean-Dominique's way of speaking was very tedious and time-consuming.
Over time, Claude built a friendship with Jean-Dominique. She even bought him a copy of the Count of Monte Cristo for his birthday and read parts to him.
Henriette Durand
Henriette was the speech therapist who came up with the speaking system for Jean-Dominique. I was reminded of the speaking system for the old man from Breaking Bad, except signalling through blinking was obviously more tiring than pressing a bell in my opinion.
Henriette said that Jean-Dominique was an important patient to her, probably because if she could come up with a successful way for him to communicate, then that would solve a lot of issues for other patients with speaking issues as well.
This was why it was disappointing to her when Jean-Dominique said he wanted to die. She was trying her best here and he didn't realize that she was just trying to help him.
Marie Lopez
Marie was the therapist who would help Jean-Dominique with his mouth movements including swallowing.
She took Jean-Dominique to church one against his will, so we learned that she was a religious women.
Near the end, Jean-Dominique was able to make grunts and move his tongue, but that was the extent of what he could do.
Mr. Bauby Sr.
Before the stroke, Jean-Dominique would visit his father. In the movie, we saw the last time they'd met, in which Jean-Dominique helped his father shave, and talked about the book he was planning on writing.
After the stroke, Mr. Bauby Sr. called once. Without Jean-Dominique around, he felt even more trapped in his apartment. He told Jean-Dominique about his will. I don't know if Mr. Bauby Sr. was seriously considering suicide but it definitely sounded like he was.
Jean-Dominique said that he'd been appreciative of his dad's pride in him, as many kids sought their parents' approval. So I think he did have a good relationship his dad. I think Jean-Dominique and Mr. Bauby Sr. were just sad that they could no longer spend the little time that they had together anymore.
Theopile Bauby
Theo was Jean-Dominique's son. When Jean-Dominique had a stroke, Theo was in the car with him, so it was probably pretty traumatizing for him to see his dad like that.
When Theo first saw his father again, he seemed pretty mature about it, helping his father to wipe saliva at the side of his mouth. We did see him crying into his mother's arms though. From personal experience, I can attest that regardless of how put together you are about a loved one being ill, seeing them completely different from how you remember them is always an emotional experience.
Themes
Women
Before the stroke, I think Jean-Dominique was probably flippant about how he viewed women. I think he objectified them, but also knew that he wasn't treating them well.
When Jean-Dominique had first met Henriette and Marie, he couldn't believe how beautiful they were. He also later had dreams about erotic feasts with Claude, and kissing Empress Eugenie.
Jean-Dominique wanted to write a modern retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo in which the main character was a woman exacting revenge. I think Jean-Dominique knew deep down inside that he wasn't treating women the best, and that it was only a matter of time before they turned on him.
Jean-Dominique was deeply in love with Ines, and I do think it broke his heart that Ines couldn't bear to come see him in the state that he was in. But I think he also understood that a big part of it was sexual attraction and that he couldn't do much for her in his current state.
Instead, Jean-Dominique started to value the friendship and company that the women in his life provided.
I did think it was sketchy that most of the supporting characters in the movie were beautiful women who were extremely focused on his well-being. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
Children
Jean-Dominique didn't have a bad relationship with his dad prior to his stroke. He visited him regularly, and he loved it when his dad told him that he was proud of him.
It seemed that Jean-Dominique only saw his kids occasionally, and that Celine was their main caretaker. Because Jean-Dominique missed his father, I think he realized that he himself wasn't doing a good job of parenting his own kids and giving them the love that they probably wanted and craved.
In the end, the only thing that Jean-Dominique could give his kids was a wish for many butterflies.
Religion
A few of the women in Jean-Dominique's life were very religious. He'd dated a woman who wanted to go to a church in Lourdes. In Lourdes, she really wanted a statue of Mary that had been blessed by a Cardinal. He bought it for her, but he broke up later.
It also annoyed Jean-Dominique when Marie took him to church and asked for him to be blessed even though he didn't want to.
But I think Jean-Dominique came to understand that religion was a coping mechanism for people to find peace with themselves.
Soon after the scene where he went to church with Marie, there was a scene of Jean-Dominique being carried in a pool. I thought it looked like he was getting baptized, like he was getting in touch with his spiritual side because he'd never thought to look within for personal peace.
Title
The diving bell referred to a brass helmet that divers wore. They were extremely heavy, and Jean-Dominique felt that he was trapped underwater in one, where nobody could hear him.
Butterflies referred to his spirit. Its lightweight nature was a contrast against the heavy diving bell. I think it represented Jean-Dominique's new way of understand life. Trapped in his diving bell, he learned to live life differently and find his own butterfly.
In his memoir, Jean-Dominique wished for many butterflies for his children, which I interpret to be him wishing them much peace and happiness in their lives.
Overall
This was a good movie, but of course it was pretty sad, especially knowing the final outcome. But as I mentioned, as a piece of film I didn't find it particularly outstanding. The main draw was the story.