Title: Diving Bell And The Butterfly Release Date: 2007 Genre: Drama Director: Julian Schnabel
The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who's stroke left his body totally paralyzed with the exception of his left eye, brings you to a place you’ll hope you never return. Based on the book Bauby dictated through blinking his eye, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly is an experience as much as it is a narrative.
“Let your imagination set you free” is the film's tag line. Ironically it is our imagination that Golden Globe winning director Julian Schnabel manipulates with his camera. Schnabel takes us into Bauby’s world by shooting the majority of the film from the perspective of one functioning eye - constructing unmovable flesh walls in our mind that leave us feeling trapped. But those of you who have seen Cloverfield need not fear, this first person experience does not bring with it the same nauseating effect. Instead of exhausting you, it forces you to slow down and feel the nuanced pain and frustration that must have defined Jean-Dominique’s life.
So, why force yourself to take on such a film?
Though few people may never experience the bondage of total paralysis, the idea of being trapped in one's own body (or lives) is something that many can relate.In fact it is this "relating" that often places us before the screen. We relate to people. We relate to a story. And in this case, it is not difficult to relate to the hope beyond the pain.
“My Body Is A Cage,” The Arcade Fire song from Neon Bible, metaphorically taps into the reality that Bauby was living.
My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key
If you are willing to enter into the experience of Jean-Dominique Bauby’s life, you may find that the cage you are living in, like his, is not locked shut.
And here again The Arcade Fire have thoughtful insight.
I'm living in an age
That calls darkness light
Though my language is dead
Still the shapes fill my head
If we truly are living in an age that has things backwards… one that calls darkness light… maybe it is our imagination wondering if there is another way to live, a better way of seeing things, that will lead us out of this cage and into the freedom of a life that sees things for what they really are.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (TRAILER):
"My Body Is A Cage" - The Arcade Fire (Unofficiall Video)
My Body Is A Cage (Lyrics) by The Arcade Fire
My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key
My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key
I'm standing on a stage
Of fear and self-doubt
It's a hollow play
But they'll clap anyway
My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key
You're standing next to me
My mind holds the key
I'm living in an age
That calls darkness light
Though my language is dead
Still the shapes fill my head
I'm living in an age
Whose name I don't know
Though the fear keeps me moving
Still my heart beats so slow
My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key
You're standing next to me
My mind holds the key
My body is a
My body is a cage
We take what we're given
Just because you've forgotten
That don't mean you're forgiven
I'm living in an age
That screams my name at night
But when I get to the doorway
There's no one in sight
My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key
You're standing next to me
My mind holds the key
Set my spirit free
Set my spirit free
Set my body free
I suppose I could be pissed off..... written by Rob Hankins , January 24, 2008
Thanks for the thoughts on the film Eric. I think you really nailed it, in saying that the cages we are stuck in are not always locked. Henri Nouwen talked about "Choosing Joy" as he was reflecting on Rembrandt's painting. It's an easy thought to throw around, but how the heck do you do it in the midst of this? While I could say this film is a celebration of what is human about us - something that Bauby's friend tells him to hold onto when he visits him, it is much more a celebration of everything else in the world. I kept thinking of the end of American Beauty when Lester posthumously says "I suppose I could be pissed off, but it's hard to stay mad when there is so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst."
I don't want to choose joy because I am not in Bauby's condition - I want to choose joy because there is SO MUCH beauty in the world and so much to be joyful of.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
I don't want to choose joy because I am not in Bauby's condition - I want to choose joy because there is SO MUCH beauty in the world and so much to be joyful of.