FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

leethomas-11621 Quintessential French movie. The director's inventiveness succeeds in bringing a fairly static book to the screen. I feared the subjective camerawork, the voice-over narration and the jumping backwards in time would spoil it but the director lets no difficulty get in his way. Other reviewers have pointed out something I was unaware of - the film takes liberties with the true story especially in its treatment of Bauby's girlfriend. (viewed 10/16)

estebangonzalez10 "I decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed, my imagination and my memory."Julian Schnabel's French film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, is a powerful and emotional film about a man suffering from locked-in syndrome due to a stroke. Despite having his mental faculties intact, he is almost completely paralyzed and unable to communicate with the outside world. The once successful magazine editor is now living as a prisoner of his own body. The only muscle he is capable of moving is his left eye and with the help of a therapist he manages to communicate by blinking his eye. Mathieu Amalric gives a powerful performance as Jean- Dominique Bauby, and most of the film takes place from his point of view. Schnabel brilliantly and effectively uses camera angles to give the audience a glimpse of what this person's claustrophobic world was like. From the very opening scene we are hooked and drawn to Jean- Do's new world as he's trapped in his body. It is a very emotional film based on the autobiography written by Bauby himself who managed to write the book with the help of his therapist through the use of a communication system they developed. The sole fact that this man was able to write a book in the condition he was in, is reason enough for me to want to read his book or see a movie based on his life. It takes a lot of courage to open up the way Jean-Do did, and I think it is one of the main reasons why this film worked so well for audiences across the globe. It says a lot about how powerless we are against these illnesses, but at the same time we can also share Jean-Do's approach of learning to deal with his disability and facing the obstacles with optimism. He realized that despite being physically disabled he still had his mental faculties and was able to break those boundaries with the power of his imagination. I am also certain that this element is what caught director Schnabel's attention and what pushed him to make this film. He tells the story with such class that despite the emotional moments you never feel he was trying to be manipulative or force the audience into feeling a certain way. The performances in this film are also outstanding, making this an even more engaging movie. I also loved the beautiful imagery that Schnabel used, turning the film into a poem at times. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was a personal film for me considering that my father is going through a slightly similar experience as the character in this film. He suffered a stroke four years ago and hasn't been able to speak since. The right side of his body was paralyzed, but with help from therapy he has been able to walk again. Despite not being able to speak he understands everything and communicates with us through signs and facial expressions. The brave way in which he has managed to face his illness by always being in good spirits and not letting the disease get the best of him is a constant reminder for me of how much our attitude influences the way we approach life. He could be feeling sorry for himself, or he can stay positive and continue to improve with therapy in a similar way that Jean-Do did with his locked in syndrome. Having your mental capabilities intact is a major force considering you can escape those limitations in your mind and let your imagination fly. In a way, it was a turning point for Jean-Do when he realized this and Schnabel managed to capture those moments really well on camera. The scenes he shares with his family members are among my favorite in the film. I loved the scene in which he's in the beach with his ex-wife and kids. It is such an emotional scene but at the same time it felt authentic and real. The scenes with his father, played by Max von Sydow, are also extremely powerful and effective. You rarely see a biopic like this one, and Schnabel deserves all the credit for making an original and moving picture.

MartinHafer "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a difficult movie to watch. However, given the subject matter, they manage to do an excellent job. And, since it's currently on the IMDb Top 250 List (currently #243), obviously a lot of people found it to be worth seeing.When the film begins, you see what the world looks like when a man (Jean-Dominique Bauby) very, very slowly awakens for the first time in weeks. It seems he's been in a coma and this is the result of a stroke--a stroke occurring to a vibrant man who was only in his early 40s at the time. This is possibly the best part of the film and it caught my attention--the fascinating use of very unusual camera angles, focus and close-ups.After this preliminary examination is complete, one thing is obvious to the doctors---Jean-Dominque cannot talk or communicate. He THINKS he's communicating but no one can hear me and he's locked inside his broken body. Soon the doctors tell him he has something called a 'locked-in syndrome'. In other words, he might never re-learn to communicate or move--this is a horribly scary diagnosis. However, through the course of the film, he learns that he can move his one eye and with that he then learns to communicate.After working with therapists, Jean-Dominique has an unusual request--he wants his therapist to call a publisher. It seems that he (who was the real life editor of 'Elle' magazine) had an existing contract to write a book--and now he wanted to dictate his memoirs! To do this, he had to use a painfully slow methods involving blinks to spell out every word of the text! Long, complicated but, amazingly, quite possible--resulting an an actual book "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"--which also became the title of this movie.I could say more about the film but it's best to just see it yourself. I should point out that although it's listed as a French-language film on IMDb, somehow (perhaps much later) an English language dub was also made--using many of the actual voices of folks in the movie (which IS unusual). All in all, I was surprised how watchable the dub was, as I usually avoid dubs because they are done so poorly and so much of the original film is often lost. All in all, it's an exceptional film.By the way, if you DO watch the film be aware that there is some nudity (in his dreams and flashbacks) and a few of the scenes in the film are tough to watch. It's really not a kids film.

Seamus Harley This has to be one of the most amazing movies ever made. The cinematography is sublime as well as the soundtrack. While on the whole the movie is really moving, it is also quite humorous at times and it leaves you with an overwhelming feeling once you have watched it for the first time and tell everyone else about it. Mathieu Amalric's portrayal of Jean-Dominique Bauby is perfect and due to the way the film is shot, you can really identify the main character's emotional turmoil, frustrations and fantasies. Why this hasn't won more awards than it has is truly a mystery, definitely one of the finest French movies of all time if not the finest movie ever full stop.