Very well executed

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

For some, the movie will require a fair degree of patience but it's worth it; this is an incredible story, all the more so for being a true one. It virtually forces one to think about what you would do under similar circumstances and that's not a comforting thought. The real life Jean Dominique Balby was a man of intense fortitude to come to grips with the nature of his paralysis, a rare condition called 'locked-in syndrome' that left him entirely immobile except for his left eye. Trained to communicate by blinking 'yes' or 'no' to the letters of the alphabet, Jean-Do was able to dictate a book on his experience under the attentive and patient care of his transcriber, Claude (Anne Consigny). Not only does the story reflect on the randomness of life's events in the case of Jean-Do, but also includes that of a man who Jean-Do gave up his seat on an airplane for. The plane was hijacked by terrorists and Pierre Rousin (Niels Arestrup) remained a hostage for a period of four years, thereby experiencing his own trial of solitude and tribulation. What keeps Jean-Do going are his memories and imagination, without which he would have succumbed early to a withering death. One wonders what traumatic event might have caused his condition, though a scene late in the picture reveals that it was merely a stroke that occurred while driving his son to the theater. I say merely, but the effect as we experience throughout the film was devastating. The story is entirely inspirational, though it's adherence to the facts of Jean-Do's relationship with the mother of his children and the mistress who's never shown in the picture is virtually reversed. One might take a look at the review on this board of 'edog101' for some insight into that story, one which affirms that film makers needn't tamper with the facts in order to produce a compelling movie.

The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye is not paralyzed.Director Julian Schnabel is a pretty amazing guy. Not only is he a great artist and painter, who also happens to work on films, but he went the extra mile of learning French in order to make this movie. Did it have to be in French? No, but Schnabel demanded it.Some of this film takes place from the point of view of Bauby, which is pretty amazing given that he is paralyzed in all but his left eye. That makes the use of the camera very limited, but also rather powerful if done right. Here, it is done right.

'Le Scaphandre et le Papillon' is arguable one of the most beautiful films that I've ever seen. I was expecting some kind of weird depressing drama but what I got here...unbelievable. What a punch in the face. I mean, what a GOOD punch in the face...It's far from being a weird depressing and dry drama. What I got here was a poetic masterpiece comparable to Shakespeare's greatest works, and a character's deconstruction in the likes of Dostoyevsky!The film is always narrated, and by the protagonist himself. We listen his thoughts so carefully that one would describe it as mesmerizing. Mesmerize the viewer, in fact, is something that most films can't do. Maybe it's because the power the protagonist have in making apparently simple situations turns in a poetry class, which is extremely appealing to me. Also, I've never seen a character study mixed with Shakespeare and extreme existentialism before, and probably I won't see something alike outside THAT film. The vivid cinematography and the smart and 'contemporany' feel in the direction gives a whole new atmosphere to the film. The acting is very good, I mean, It's easy to Mathieu Amalric stand in a place and do nothing, but his eyes's expressions are what really counts and in the film it was good. They say everything you need to know. While isn't a 'excellent' work, we shall agree it was very well-done and convincing.I guarantee, this film is a masterpiece. This film needs to be watched. 10/10

"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.