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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly *

Well, it’s time for an Accidental Critic pan.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Le Scaphandre et le papillon) is a French docudrama based on the real life story of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby. Bauby suffered a stroke in 1995 that left him completely paralyzed and mute. Well, not completely paralyzed, he was able to author an autobiography which he dictated by blinking his left eye.

When the film was released in 2007 it garnered a good bit of praise. Julian Schnabel was nominated for the 2008 Best Director Oscar (and won the Golden Globe). The film has been described as “poignant”, “an ode to liberation”, a “sensitive exploration”…okay we’ll watch it already.

Hmmm…gotta say, we were not impressed. Should we have found the hero admirable or the women who loved him profound, thoughtful, or sensitive? Perhaps not. They were French, though. The situation is tragic, but is there a tragic hero? Does the hero learn to overcome his privations or does he just dwell in his memories and fantasies? Of course a docudrama doesn’t have to be only as good as the truth of its main characters and yet we couldn’t help but be disappointed by the film. As you are watching you keep waiting, thinking that something important is about to happen, and then it doesn’t.

If this is among the best that French film has to offer, it seems that the French are full of departure. With the deaths of Beaudrillard and Derrida, has the culture suffered its own neurological accident from which recovery is unlikely? Is French cinema, like the former editor of Elle, reduced to the wink?

We recently reviewed an older French film,“Diva” which upon recent viewing seemed a bit naive. But for many reasons it is still the more thoughtful film. At least there are some interesting ideas about beauty and about evil which deserve reflection.

Seen any good French movies lately?

2 comments:

  1. I think you were having a bad day. Why so impatient?

    I thought this was a very good movie. Maybe it's one that needs to be seen in the theater.

    Also -- didn't it raise a lot of questions for you about how we perceive life and our surroundings?

    Didn't this film make you wonder what you would do if you had "locked in" syndrome? It did for me.

    Thanks for writing! You have a good blog concept.

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  2. Hi Paul,

    Appreciate the comment and good perspective... Maybe our expectations were a little high thanks to all the hype surrounding the film.

    Thanks, we are really having fun with this blog and of course it's a great excuse to find the time to watch more movies!

    Thanks for reading!

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