the diving bell & the butterfly

saw julian schnabel's excellent the diving bell and the butterfly last night, about a french man who, in 1995, has a massive stroke with subsequent damage to his brain stem resulting in "locked-in syndrome," an extremely rare condition of paralysis of all, or nearly all, voluntary muscles. the afflicted are awake & aware, but helpless to communicate without assistance, translation. just about the worst result of a stroke possible, but a near perfect story for a painter making a film, evidenced by the results here, as it allows for (if not demands) an experimental, impressionistic, cerebral exploration of internal & emotional life and imagination, which schnabel accomplishes through imagery & metaphor, point of view, shot composition, flashback and a lively and somewhat sardonic narration.

jean-dominique bauby, the protagonist, whose p.o.v. the camera most often assumes, can communicate with just one of his eyes, and only if the person he's communicating to stands in front of him just so, and schnabel and his cinematographers take their time, keep the frame tight upon the faces of the characters (as in the top half of the movie poster), which, aside from being visually arresting (i can't lie, it helps to have tremendously attractive people as subjects), magnifies each gesture, each expression or flick of the eye(s), each emotion. it's a sad story, that's true, and there are weighty, emotional scenes. but schnabel has, for the most part, thankfully, a light touch and the film does not feel overwrought or melodramatic. just affecting.

a few other quick notes: a) the attendants who translated for bauby recited the alphabet, organized by frequency of use, and bauby blinked once after hearing the letter he had in mind. in this way he spelled out the book upon which the movie is based. (more info on the book here.) as remarkable as the feat may be, this strikes me as a remarkably inefficient system. at jabberwocky, the summer camp for disabled children where i used to volunteer, a few of the campers have sight boards, clear squares of plastic with alphabet stickers affixed. words are disclosed by lining up the camper's eye through the board, and thus a single letter, with your own. why this system is not more widely known or used, i don't know, as it's both swift and effective.

& b) if i ever get sick, someone please promise to set me up in the hospital at berck with all of those beautiful french women attendants. absolutely the last word in convalescence.

& lastly, and most to the point, i suppose, c) the movie features several top-notch songs, a few of which, the better known, are posted below, including two lovely tracks by tom waits. (the second waits' song, "green grass" plays towards the end of the credits.)

tom waits - all the world is green
velvet underground - pale blue eyes
u2 - ultra violet (light my way)
tom waits - green grass

and okay one other last small bit about the film before i let you all go: it's in french, with english subtitles, starring (mostly) french actors, but is not eligible for the best foreign film oscar because it's actually an american production. to my mind, this is a small issue, as it's worthy, i think, of outright best picture consideration. be a shame, however, if its borderland status results in deserved recognition falling through the cracks.

embarcadero is the only cinema in the city currently showing the diving bell and the butterfly; you can check the listings here. the film's trailer is here. happy weekend, gang.