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Moviola > Films > The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon) (12A) 112 mins"Let your imagination set you free." Director Julian Schnabel tells the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), AKA “Jean-Do,” the high-flying editor of French Elle and father of two, who was renowned for his sense of humour and style, his joie de vivre and amorous energy, and who at the age of 43 suffered a stroke that paralysed his entire body except his left eye. Faced with a harrowing predicament, Jean-Do will use enormous courage and determination but, most of all, his soaring imagination to escape from his trap. Tapping into the limitlessness of his memories, fantasies, wit and wishes, he finds a way to race through experiences of wonder and grief, sex and love, fatherhood and childhood, faith and questioning, ecstasy and absurdity – and touches the very essence of what it is to be human. Along the way he is buoyed by a quintet of remarkable women: Céline (Emmanuelle Seigner), the mother of his children who remains devoted to him despite his betrayal; Inés (Agathe de la Fontaine), the girlfriend who still haunts him; Henriette (Marie-Josée Croze) and Marie (Olatz Lopez Garamendia), who give Jean-Do the power to re-connect with the world and his loved ones; and Claude (Anne Consigny), who becomes his literary assistant. The great Max Von Sydow plays Jean-Do’s father. "Nothing in director Julian Schnabel's career so far has anticipated the sweetness, sadness, maturity and restraint of this lovely movie." Peter Bradshaw "A triumph" Philip French "Curiously enough, a movie about deprivation becomes a celebration of the richness of experience, and a remarkably rich experience in its own right. In his memoir Mr. Bauby performed a heroic feat of alchemy, turning horror into wisdom, and Mr. Schnabel, following his example and paying tribute to his accomplishment, has turned pity into joy." New York Times http://video.movies.go.com/thedivingbellandthebutterfly/main.html Showing: 07-June Bruton Last modified: 11-Apr-2008 |
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