The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

An intimate, immersive plunge into a paralyzed man's inner world, blending memory and fantasy with unsentimental tenderness.

Directed by

Julian Schnabel

Genres

Drama, History

Starring

Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze

Tagline

Let your imagination set you free.

Overview

Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French fashion bible Elle magazine, has a devastating stroke at age 43. The damage to his brain stem results in locked-in syndrome, with which he is almost completely paralyzed and only able to communicate by blinking an eye. Bauby painstakingly dictates his memoir via the only means of expression left to him.

How it feels

Melancholic, warm, uplifting and dark. Slow-burning and demanding.

About

Isolation, memory, identity, family

Content

Mild violence, gore, sexual content and language.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)