The Diving Bell & the Butterfly (2007)
Directed by Julian Schnabel
***3/4
Somehow, I forgot to review this film a couple months ago. Shame on me.
It's a great film, one of the best of last year. Schnabel is himself an artist (and a little full of himself in person, at that) - but his giftedness translates into really magnificent films. His earlier film, Before Night Falls, has too many POE for me to recommend it, but needless to say it launched the career of Javier Bardem (+ giving him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor), and contained some really remarkable scenes, visuals & techniques.
This film follows Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who has to discover life all over again after a car accident leaves him paralyzed, with only the use of one eye. Schnabel and Spielberg-regular Janusz Kaminski magically recreate the world of a paralyzed man, giving us astonishing views from his perspective & helping us feel what it must be like to be trapped, unable to communicate. Though it thankfully never really adopts a dualistic perspective, the film's exploration of the butterfly (spirit/soul) trapped in this diving bell (body) really resonated with me on a human level. The film ends up surprisingly uplifting, edifying. I would highly recommend this film to almost anyone.
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