Monday Movie Madness - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

As you all know, I love the French in a way that can only be classified as an "unhealthy obsession". Then how is it possible, you ask, that a Francofile such as myself would not keep up on the latest Fraunch films. Well,this is because while I love all things French, I don't necessarily understand them. I know this sounds cliché, but all cliches hold some truth. And when it comes to French cinema, the truth is that the French simply love to examine the tribulations of human emotion. And consequently, the more one suffers, the more convoluted the plot, the more insufferable the film. And just in case you think I'm being pedestrian, let me throw out a few films as an example: Le Moustache, Jeux d'enfants (Guillaume Canet, hello handsome), that movie with the violinist that falls in love with the crazy person, and then the one about the con-man that falls in love with American journalist, anything Goddard.

That said, there's really nothing more splendid than going to the movies on a Monday at 2:45pm. Especially when you know that besides the handful of other extraordinary individuals who somehow managed to evade the drudgery of "work", everyone else is slaving away at a computer while you're watching French cinema. Yes, my friends, life is good. And after watching The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the latest Julien Schnabel flick, I may even venture to say that life is a gift.

Or in the least I'd say, when life gives you shit luck, you should write a book about it. That way when everyone else is carrying on about their pitiful lives you can feel superior. Content in knowing that you have overcome a great deal of suffering and put forth a wonderful work of art that is tender and inspirational. And that kids, is a most gratifying feeling.

With that in mind, let's proceed with my completely arbitrary review of the film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

1) Mathieu Almirac, France's answer to Andrew McCarthy only less creepy, and the second dreamiest French actor next to Malik Zidi, should win some sort of acting prize. Even with his eye all aflutter and practically popping out of his head, he still manages to be ridiculously charming and absolutely cute. Kudos to Almirac for making me think naughty things about a man in a vegetative state.

2) On that note, I love that Jean-Do remains saucy even in his vegetable-like condition.

3) Schnabel did an amazing job capturing the absolute horror of what it must be like to be trapped in one's body. And cinematically the imagery was all around amazing. The blurry faces and disembodied voices, the non-peripheral views, the flashbacks, the diving bell buoying in a vast sea of green and blue, were all perfect. The scenery was fantastic, with Breck looking desolate and bleak, all the while quasi-therapeutic. I really loved what he did with this movie. And thankfully Schnabel had the right mind to limit the gratuitous befuddling scenes to a minimum. Like when JD is on that pier like object in the middle of the ocean, yeesh, what's that supposed to mean?

4) Sometimes I got mixed up with the female characters. Perhaps my memory is bad or perhaps the females all looked somewhat similar, but sometimes I couldn't tell who was who. Like when they took their trip to Lourdes. I believe he went with the prettier nurse, not Henriette, but I just can't tell. I don't remember her having been so tall until I saw the Lourdes scene, but maybe that's because Jean-Do was always laying down. On second thought, did the trip to Lourdes even happen? And then there was that scene when JD was shaving his father, and at one point there was no shaving cream and at another there was. These are the kinds of continuity issues that my brain tends to harp on. However, I can overlook all of this simply because I understand that poor Jean-Do is living solely on memory, and if memory is anything, its erratic (and often fictitious), so it would make complete sense that images would be tangential and the dialogue circuitous. Applause to Schnabel, even I got that one.

In sum, this movie was excellent on many levels, and thus deserves a rating of 9.0. I was moved and entertained, which for someone like myself who has often been deemed cold and unresponsive further proves that this is a great film. I'd also like to note that despite being a simpleton, I understood this film. And even I can truly appreciate the notion that life can be brief and arduous, but beautiful all the same.