Mon Dieu!
April 11th 2008 23:17
B
o
n.
I just arrived home with cries of “Cinema! Cinema!” ringing in my ears (“Man Bites Dog” anyone?) and the vision of the world from the perspective of a completely paralysed man (apart from his left eye), in my eye(s). In other words I just watched “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon), the true story of Jean-Dominique Bouby, who at the age of just 43 was struck by a huge stroke which left him unable to move his entire body except for his left eye.
Now, if the film had of been bad then at this point I was going to make a series of poor jokes about how the film-makers had truly allowed me to experience the hopelessness and the frustration experienced by the main character, that perhaps I too had endured a little of the “locked-in syndrome” that he describes. But in fact it wasn’t bad, it was quite good (adjectives!). The story itself of course pretty much demands to be told and lends itself to this kind of adaptation, however this shouldn’t take away from the filmmakers’ achievements. In particular I really enjoyed the transition from the early part of the film where shots were confined almost solely to the eye (!) view of Jean-Dominique to the more expansive palette of the latter part of the film, as his attitude continued to improve and his imagination flourish.
I tell you what though, blinking this out whilst my girlfriend takes the dictation is exhausting, no wonder he never got out of bed. I’ll leave you to watch it for yourselves.
B
y
e.
o
n.
I just arrived home with cries of “Cinema! Cinema!” ringing in my ears (“Man Bites Dog” anyone?) and the vision of the world from the perspective of a completely paralysed man (apart from his left eye), in my eye(s). In other words I just watched “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon), the true story of Jean-Dominique Bouby, who at the age of just 43 was struck by a huge stroke which left him unable to move his entire body except for his left eye.
Now, if the film had of been bad then at this point I was going to make a series of poor jokes about how the film-makers had truly allowed me to experience the hopelessness and the frustration experienced by the main character, that perhaps I too had endured a little of the “locked-in syndrome” that he describes. But in fact it wasn’t bad, it was quite good (adjectives!). The story itself of course pretty much demands to be told and lends itself to this kind of adaptation, however this shouldn’t take away from the filmmakers’ achievements. In particular I really enjoyed the transition from the early part of the film where shots were confined almost solely to the eye (!) view of Jean-Dominique to the more expansive palette of the latter part of the film, as his attitude continued to improve and his imagination flourish.
I tell you what though, blinking this out whilst my girlfriend takes the dictation is exhausting, no wonder he never got out of bed. I’ll leave you to watch it for yourselves.
B
y
e.
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