The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 film based on the memoir of the same name by Jean-Dominique Bauby. The film depicts Bauby’s life after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 43,[1] which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The condition paralyzed him, with the exception of his left eyelid, so that he could only communicate by blinking. The film was directed by Julian Schnabel, written by Ronald Harwood and stars Mathieu Amalric as Bauby. It won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globes and the BAFTA Awards, as well as four Academy Award nominations. (wikipedia)
I was fortunate enough to see this in a theater up in Madison, Wisconsin on back on Saint Patrick’s day this year. It’s recently been released to rent. The theater was the perfect accompaniment too, for it was a restored 1920’s downtown theater with all original velvet seats, baroque woodwork, and gorgeous ornamented walls.
a powerful story. I’m looking forward to when I get to see it again. I also plan on reading the book sometime this year.
I loved “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, but the movie I’d rather see is “My Stroke of Insight”, which is the amazing bestselling book by Dr Jill Bolte Taylor. It is an incredible story and there’s a happy ending. She was a 37 year old Harvard brain scientist who had a stroke in the left half of her brain. The story is about how she fully recovered, what she learned and experienced, and it teaches a lot about how to live a better life. Her TEDTalk at TED dot com is fantastic too. It’s been spread online millions of times and you’ll see why!