The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jean-Do was in his forties when he had a massive stroke leaving him with full body paralysis, and the rare disorder of locked in syndrome. Only able to use one eye to blink out his communications, he wrote a book with the above referenced title. Last year the book was made into a film, and it received much praise and honor. And if I do say so, the film deserves it.
For the rest of my life I will refer to this movie as, "Who knew spelling out the alphabet in French over and over and over and over and over again could be so dramatic?" in my head. It was. It worked. It shouldn't have, but it did. I love this type of movie. It's the kind that should fail on every level, but the story is just so damn interesting that you keep pressing through it, and enjoy it the whole time. Most of the film is told from the perspective of Jean-Do, so when his eyes get blurry so does the camera, when he starts to loose his hearing, the sound quality of the film starts to deteriorate, and when he dies (by the way this isn't a shock) the movie ends. It's innovative and fun to watch.
Now, as for renting this film, I have very few reservations in suggesting it. However, it is in French, so that means it's subtitled. There is no English dubbing on purpose. Also, (I have no idea why you'd want a small child in the room while you are watching a subtitled French film about a man who has a stroke), there are some "racy" parts.
I'm off to find a copy of the book at my local half price books. I'm sure it's going to be an interesting read.
Jean-Do was in his forties when he had a massive stroke leaving him with full body paralysis, and the rare disorder of locked in syndrome. Only able to use one eye to blink out his communications, he wrote a book with the above referenced title. Last year the book was made into a film, and it received much praise and honor. And if I do say so, the film deserves it.
For the rest of my life I will refer to this movie as, "Who knew spelling out the alphabet in French over and over and over and over and over again could be so dramatic?" in my head. It was. It worked. It shouldn't have, but it did. I love this type of movie. It's the kind that should fail on every level, but the story is just so damn interesting that you keep pressing through it, and enjoy it the whole time. Most of the film is told from the perspective of Jean-Do, so when his eyes get blurry so does the camera, when he starts to loose his hearing, the sound quality of the film starts to deteriorate, and when he dies (by the way this isn't a shock) the movie ends. It's innovative and fun to watch.
Now, as for renting this film, I have very few reservations in suggesting it. However, it is in French, so that means it's subtitled. There is no English dubbing on purpose. Also, (I have no idea why you'd want a small child in the room while you are watching a subtitled French film about a man who has a stroke), there are some "racy" parts.
I'm off to find a copy of the book at my local half price books. I'm sure it's going to be an interesting read.
