Le scaphandre et le papillon (2007)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Julian Schnabel

Writers (WGA):

Ronald Harwood (screenplay)
Jean-Dominique Bauby (book)

Release Date:

23 May 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Let your imagination set you free

Plot:

The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.

Plot Keywords:

Eye | Stroke | Editor | France | Blink

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 40 wins & 33 nominations

Cast

Mathieu Amalric	...	Jean-Do
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Céline
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Henriette Roi
Anne Consigny	...	Claude
Patrick Chesnais	...	Le Docteur Lepage
Niels Arestrup	...	Roussin
Olatz López Garmendia	...	Marie Lopez
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Père Lucien et le Vendeur
Marina Hands	...	Joséphine
Max von Sydow	...	Papinou
Gérard Watkins	...	Le Docteur Cocheton
Théo Sampaio	...	Théophile
Fiorella Campanella	...	Céleste
Talina Boyaci	...	Hortense
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Laurent

Also Known As:

Le scaphandre et le papillon (France)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for nudity, sexual content and some language.

Runtime:

France:112 min | USA:112 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:12A | Canada:PG | Netherlands:6 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Sweden:7 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43714) | Hong Kong:IIB | Greece:K-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Berck, Pas-de-Calais, France

Company:

Pathé Renn Productions

Trivia:

The script, written by Ronald Harwood, was originally in English. Director Julian Schnabel convinced the studio, Pathé, to change the language to French to stay true to Bauby's life and story. Ironically, Pathé is a French studio founded in Paris by brothers Charles, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Jean-Do shaves his father, he shaves the moustache area and the shaving cream is removed, but in the next shot this area is covered with shaving cream again. In the following shot the father's upper lift is clean of shaving cream again.

Quotes:

Roussin: Hold fast to the human inside of you, and you'll survive.

Movie Connections:

Features Der Flug um den Erdball, 1. Teil - Paris bis Ceylon (1925)

Soundtrack:

Happy Birthday to You

Inspiration

The immersion into the life of a man that is a part of a horrific event, where just about all seems lost and where he becomes literally trapped with in his own body can be heart-achingly depressing, however, it was actually, due to poetic direction, a mesmerizing, stylistic and somewhat uplifting story. The air was a little sweeter, after the viewing since life becomes more appreciated. This movie helps you appreciate the finer things in life and realize all that we take for granted.

Giving the film a surreal feel as though in a dream we witness a collage of memories, imaginations and actual dreams. From this, along with actual visits from loved ones we get an understanding of the man's life before the accident. It is filmed from the stroke victim's point of view. You see exactly what he sees, such as when his eye gets weak and things get blurry. We are also exposed to the man's thoughts as we hear him talking to the people about his feelings and what he wants to say despite being mute, and not being heard by the people. His thoughts give realness to the character and show us that he is still human. He even finds humor in his situation and says, to the nurse that doesn't hear him, "you need to get a sense of humor".

Overall a message about life. At the peak of this mans life an extremely severe paralysis befalls him. At first understandably pitying himself he is able to find some humor in his situation, (and parts of the movie actually make you laugh) and then inspiration. Inspiration stemming from realization that his imagination and memory are in tact. He can feel good using his mind and can even be creative and productive.