Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he’d only visited in his mind.

Le scaphandre et le papillon (2007)
  • Rating: (48,115 votes)
  • Tagline:Let your imagination set you free »
  • Runtime:112 minutes
  • Director: Julian Schnabel
  • Countries:France, USA
  • Actors:
    Jean-Do
    Mathieu Amalric
    Céline
    Emmanuelle Seigner
    Henriette Roi
    Marie-Josée Croze
    Claude
    Anne Consigny
    Le Docteur Lepage
    Patrick Chesnais
    Roussin
    Niels Arestrup
    Marie Lopez
    Olatz López Garmendia
    Père Lucien et le Vendeur
    Jean-Pierre Cassel
    Joséphine
    Marina Hands
    Papinou
    Max von Sydow
  • Genres:Biography, Drama
  • Producers:
    François-Xavier Decraene
    line producer  
    Léonard Glowinski
    associate producer  
    Pierre Grunstein
    executive producer  
    Kathleen Kennedy
    producer  
    Jon Kilik
    producer  
    Jim Lemley
    executive producer  
  • Plot: Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind. Written by Anonymous
Le scaphandre et le papillon
  • User's comment:Cinematic Art achieved by 23pictures

    One of the best films in years, and in artistic cinematic terms, one of the best films I've ever seen. That's a heavy statement to make, but off the top of my head, I cannot think of another film that explores the inner workings of a character so intimately and believably, while blending cinematography, sound effects, and musical score in such harmony -- but in a fashion we (as American's at least) are not trained to enjoy. I felt the French influence strongly cinematically and, of course in the dialogue, but the writing and acting was so fluid it felt like the subtitles weren't even there.

    The film deals with a rare physical condition, and I was physically there with the character from start to finish. I felt each moment as if it were my own. That is a rare accomplishment in cinema. Julian Schnabel directed a stellar cast. Mathieu Amalric was unusually charming as Jean-Dominique Bauby, and Max Von Sydow was heartbreaking as his lonely widower father. The female leads were all equally impressive as they were beautiful. I don not mean to generalize them, but they were all so excellent that they blend seamlessly in my mind, in terms of performance.

    Overall, this film was as pure a cinematic experience as I've witnessed in a long time. A true artist turns out a film that is truly a piece of art. Julian Schnabel takes his time in between films, but with work like this, there's no need to rush. Like a good painting, one can enjoy it for a lifetime.


  • Quotes: Jean-Dominique Bauby: I decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed, my imagination and my memory. Jean-Dominique Bauby: We're all children, we all need approval. Jean-Dominique Bauby: A poet once said, "Only a fool laughs when nothing's funny"
  • Also known as: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (International - English title), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (UK), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (USA), Dykkerklokken og sommerfuglen (Denmark), Dykkerklokken og sommerfuglen (Norway - imdb display title), El llanto de la mariposa (Mexico), El llanto de la mariposa (Peru), La escafandra y la mariposa (Argentina), La escafandra y la mariposa (Spain), O Escafandro e a Borboleta (Brazil), O Escafandro e a Borboleta (Portugal), Скафандр и бабочка (Russia), Fjärilen i glaskupan (Sweden), Ha-Parpar V'Paamon Ha-Tzlila (Israel - Hebrew title), Jamsujong gwa nabi (South Korea), Kelebek ve dalgiç (Turkey - Turkish title), Le scaphandre et le papillon (France), Lo scafandro e la farfalla (Italy), Motyl i skafander (Poland), Perhonen lasikuvussa (Finland), Ronilacko zvono i leptir (Serbia - imdb display title), Scafandrul si Fluturele (Romania - imdb display title), Schmetterling und Taucherglocke (Germany), Szkafander és pillangó (Hungary), To skafandro kai i petalouda (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Tuukrikell ja liblikas (Estonia),

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