The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is a French American movie based on the memoirs of Jean-Dominque Bauby.  He was the editor of the French magazine Elle.  In 1995 at the age of 43 Bauby has a stroke which led to a condition called locked-in syndrome.  This syndrome paralyses him allowing only movement with his eyes.  Aided by a nurse he finds a way to write these very memoirs that the movie is based on.  The movie has a long list of awards including but not limited to Best Director at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, Best Adapted Screenplay at the 61st BAFTA Awards, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director-Motion Picture at the 65th Golden Globe Awards.

Soul Stars – Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny

What we like

• The movie opens with a view of the world that is seen through Bauby’s eyes and gradually becoming wider to encompass beyond this.  This change in cinematography happens at a crucial shift with Bauby

Soul experience

• As we deal with our unique suffering it is all relative to our experiences.  For some, suffering might be failing an exam.  Friends who have misunderstood.  A job with an unbearable boss. A place to eat.  A place to sleep.  A loss.  What Bauby shows us is that we have a choice and can find something even in the most extreme of challenges.  It is here that we find the true spirit of our self

To reflect on

• Bauby:  I’ve decided to stop pitying myself. 
  Other than my eye, two things aren’t paralysed.
  My imagination and my memory.

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