Spout's Scavenger Hunt
Advertisement

movies
mavens
communities

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Want to see it?
Seen it?
  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Rate this movie.

Buy it now on DVD
Starting at $22.42
Want to buy it?
Write a review
addDiscuss it
Add to lists
addRecommend it
get recommendationsGet recommendations
trailerWatch trailer

Rent it, watch it, find it

Advertisement

Synopsis
The astonishing true-life story of Jean-Dominic Bauby - a man who held the world in his palm, lost everything to sudden paralysis at 43 years old, and somehow found the strength to rebound - first touched the world in Bauby's bestselling autobiography The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (AKA La Scaphandre et la papillon), then in Jean-Jacques Beneix's half-hour 1997 documentary of Bauby at work, released under the same title, and, ten years after that, in thisCannes-selected docudrama, helmed by Julian Schnabel (Basquiat) and adapted from the memoir by Ronald Harwood (Cromwell). The Schnabel/Harwood picture follows Bauby's story to the letter - his instantaneous descent from a wealthy and congenial playboy and the editor of Elle Paris, to a bedbound, hospitalized stroke victim with an inactive brain stem that made it impossible for him to speak or move a muscle of his body. This prison, as it were, became a kind of "diving bell" for Bauby - one with no means of escape. With the editor's mind unaffected, his only solace lay in the "butterfly" of his seemingly depthless fantasies and memories. Because of Bauby's physical restriction, he only possessed one channel for communication with the outside world: ocular activity. By moving his eyes and blinking, he not only began to interact again with the world around him, but - astonishingly - authored the said memoir via a code used to signify specific letters of the alphabet. In Schnabel's picture, Mathieu Almaric tackles the difficult role of Bauby; the film co-stars Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny and Patrick Chesnais. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Cast

Niels Arestrup Roussin
Jean-Pierre Cassel Father Lucien
Patrick Chesnais Dr. Lepage
Isaach de Bankolé Laurent
Emmanuelle Seigner Celine Desmoulin
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow Papinou
Anne Consigny Claude
Mathieu Amalric Jean-Dominique Bauby
Marina Hands Josephine
Marie-Josée Croze Henriette Durand
Olatz Lopez Garmendia Marie Lopez
Theo Sampaio Théophile
Fiorella Campanella Céleste
Franck Victor Paul

Production Crew

Leonard Glowinski Associate Producer
Jean-Dominique Bauby Book Author
Janusz Kaminski Cinematographer
Paul Cantelon Composer (Music Score)
Olivier Beriot Costume Designer
Julian Schnabel Director
Juliette Welfling Editor
Jim Lemley Executive Producer
Pierre Grunstein Executive Producer
Stephane Gluck First Assistant Director
Francois-Xavier Decraene Line Producer
Julian Schnabel Musical Direction/Supervision
Jon Kilik Producer
Kathleen Kennedy Producer
Laurent Ott Production Designer
Michel Eric Production Designer
Ronald Harwood Screenwriter
Laurent Ott Set Designer
Michel Eric Set Designer
Dominique Gaborieau Sound/Sound Designer
Francis Wargnier Sound/Sound Designer
Jean-Paul Mugel Sound/Sound Designer
Jenny Eclair Visual Effects
Malika Mazaurie Visual Effects Supervisor
Yann Blondel Visual Effects Supervisor
Year: 2007
Runtime: 114
Country: France
MPAA Rating: PG13
for nudity, sexual content and some language
Category: Feature

Genre
Drama

Sound
Dolby Digital
DTS

Produced by
France 3 Cinema
Pathe Renn Production

Release
December 19, 2007 (USA - Limited)
by Miramax Films
Pathe Distribution

Awards
- Best Foreign Language Film - Boston Film Critics Association
- Best Foreign Language Film - Boston Society of Film Critics
2007 - Best Picture - Los Angeles Film Critics Association
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Los Angeles Film Critics Association
2007 - Best Picture - New York Film Critics Online
2007 - Best Foreign Film - San Francisco Film Critics Circle
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Washington D.C. Area Film Critics
2007 - Best Picture - Broadcast Film Critics Association
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Broadcast Film Critics Association
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Golden Globe
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Chicago Film Critics Association
2007 - Best Picture - American Film Institute
2007 - Best Picture - Southeastern Film Critics Award
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Southeastern Film Critics Award
2007 - Best Picture - Detroit Film Critics Society
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Film - Oklahoma Film Critics
2007 - Best Non-English Language Feature - Utah Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Florida Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Film - Las Vegas Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - San Diego Film Critics
2007 - Best Picture - National Society of Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - National Society of Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Toronto Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Phoenix Film Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Film - Alliance of Women Journalists
2007 - Best Picture - Dallas/Ft. Worth Critics
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Golden Globe
2007 - Best Foreign Language Film - Kansas City Film Critics
2007 - Best Picture - Ohio Film Critics
2007 - Best Picture - Producers Guild of America