Surprisingly there is a second patient at the hospital who is suffering from psudocoma. Bauby's condition is manifesting itself rather differently than his counterpart's, and differently to the text book cases that medical staff are more familiar with. He is able to turn his head, which is highly unusual, and this fact alone gives him hope, because he believes that it is a sign of his potential to recover from the condition completely. His goals are simple and few; he wants to be able to eat independently again - being French, he takes his food very seriously - and on a more basic level wants to be able to breathe without the aid of a machine. Perhaps once he has re-learned the art of independent breathing, speech may follow. He devises a plan that will help him to heal; he assigns each of his family members and friends a different part of his body to pray for, so that every body part is taken care of and nothing is forgotten or left out. We become Jean-Dominique from the beginning, played wonderfully by Mathieu Amalric, in this point-of-view subtitled masterpiece, living our last days in a French hospital with only gorgeous rolling hillsides, countryside, beaches, and glaciers to look at. As the editor of Elle we can only expect a lifestyle of luxury and also not be surprised by the amorous affairs of such a charismatic figure.

Wheelchair. Bauby spoke of his wheelchair in both his terms and what the professionals surrounding him provided him with. They thought of the wheelchair as progress while Bauby saw his life sentence. Bauby wrote his story with the use of a unique sequence of letters specifically designed so he could blink his eye to communicate as he created every single word of his story. Schnabel's thing might be helping us taste something we might otherwise let go unnoticed. In Basquiat, he introduced many people to the artist Basquiat, but also to the revered and misunderstood Warhol. (And if you want to understand someone as weird as Warhol, understanding the contemporaneous – and only slightly weird - Basquiat is maybe a good place to start.) Here, his insight is transcendent. The film is a work of art. About a work of art. The use of visual metaphor and an excellent script lets us use Bauby's condition symbolically. Ingenious editing keeps us on the edge of our seat, especially towards the resolution, as we race to work out how a drive in the countryside will end. All the actors were very good in this film. Amalric was so realistic I could have taken him for the real-life person. My personal favorite was speech therapist "Henriette Roi," played by Marie-Josee Croze. More important than her beauty, the concern and the kindness on her face day after day was inspiring. Meanwhile, veteran acor Max von Sydow was mesmerizing as Jean-Do's father. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) – Box Office Mojo". Boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017 . Retrieved 2 September 2017.The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly', which records Bauby's lonely existence, is probably the most remarkable book about the triumph of the human spirit, the ability to invent a life for oneself in the most appalling of circumstances, that you will ever read. Needless to say this was a powerful read. Its popularity is partly due to the fact that this book was made into a successful 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.

Paris: His old life burns within him like a dying ember. Since his stroke, he has traveled twice to Paris. The first time he went, he passed the building where he used to work as Elle's editor-in-chief, which makes him weep. The second time though, about four months later, he felt indifferent but knew nothing was missing except for him.This would be a little too precious if we didn't have the fact that its a true story — so far as the man, the situation, the book and the death. Giving the film a surreal feel as though in a dream we witness a collage of memories, imaginations and actual dreams. From this, along with actual visits from loved ones we get an understanding of the man's life before the accident. It is filmed from the stroke victim's point of view. You see exactly what he sees, such as when his eye gets weak and things get blurry. We are also exposed to the man's thoughts as we hear him talking to the people about his feelings and what he wants to say despite being mute, and not being heard by the people. His thoughts give realness to the character and show us that he is still human. He even finds humor in his situation and says, to the nurse that doesn't hear him, "you need to get a sense of humor". Outing: Weeks or months have passed since Bauby has ventured outside the hospital. On this day, he is accompanied by his old friend, Brice, and Claude, the person he is dictating the book to. Though the journey is rough on his butt and winding, he keeps moving toward his goal. Meanwhile, he contemplates how his universe is divided into those who knew him before the stroke and all others. Drawing closer to his destination, he sees Fangio, a patient of the hospital who cannot sit so he must remain standing or lying down. His destination ends up being a place that serves french fries, a smell which he doesn't tire of. What makes it interesting is that it's not your standard tale of overcoming adversity, not like "A Beautiful Mind" or "Shine" or "My Left Foot". Instead it focuses on *dealing with* adversity, anticlimactic as that may seem. In particular, it highlights the power of imagination. Jean-Dominique Bauby was a well-known French journalist and author and editor of the French fashion magazine, ELLE.

Bathtime: His physical therapist arrives for the exercise, “mobilization,” where his limbs are moved. He has lost 27 kg (60 pounds) in twenty weeks. He notes that he has more mobilization in his head as he can rotate it 90 degrees. He recounts that even with limited facial expression, he still has varying emotions each time he is cleaned or given a bath. This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( January 2018) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) I won’t recommend reading this book while signing up for insurance. I started a job recently and was overwhelmed by the different ways I could insure myself and loved ones against horrible tidings. [The following are actual insurance plans. I couldn’t make these up.]Twenty to One: He tells two stories in this chapter: of an old horse called Mirtha-Grandchamp and of the arrival of his friend Vincent. Over a decade ago, Vincent and he had gone to a race where it was rumored the horse Mirtha-Grandchamp would win. They had both planned to bet on the horse but the betting counter had closed before they were able to make a bet. The horse ends up winning. Tassel, Fabrice (11 March 1997). "L'ultime clin d'oeil de Bauby. Le journaliste paralysé est mort juste après la sortie de son livre". Libération (in French) . Retrieved 23 January 2020. I was briefly introduced to the real story of Jean-Dominique Bauby prior to watching the movie. And being somewhat familiar with his story, fate and situation, then I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. Tewksbury, Drew (28 November 2007). "Interviews: Julian Schnabel and cast of "Diving Bell and the Butterfly" ". Cargo Collective. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009 . Retrieved 13 May 2008.