202 out of 261 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

we walked out of the theater

Akexi from from London, 26th June, 2008

I am not one to leave film reviews, and honestly I guess a film has a lot to do with 'when' you see it as opposed to just the content of the film itself. So that can always be a factor in the subjectivity of a review....

All that aside I went to see this in London at a theater with my girlfriend, as we are both fans of Schnabel's work in 'Before Night Falls' and 'Basquiat'.

Having seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, nearly all the way through (we left about 10 minutes before it finished).

I may see worse than this one, but honestly we asked for out money back at the theater, which is something I have never done before in my life. I just felt this film was not in anyway an inspired, contrasting or justified in it's perspective as real life portrayal of a seemingly relentless situation.

But hey, at least it does make you feel something.

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150 out of 152 people found the following review helpful:

What are you on about?

A Customer from London, 11th November, 2008

I don't get some of the reviews here. This is a French film so *gasp* there are subtitles. And it's a film about a man who becomes paralysed and the frustration of being trapped in a useless body, so it's not going to be the jolliest film you've ever seen. But all of this should be pretty evident to anyone who has read anything about the film at all before renting it! So if you don't like subtitles, or you prefer films where the plot involves an ex-special forces hero with a painful past being blackmailed out of retirement for one last job, which will coincidentally lead to him facing his demons as well as the man who murdered his family all those years ago etc, etc, I'd suggest that this is not the film for you. If, however, you can deal with a film that presents you with some pretty harrowing circumstances, but that shows the triumph of the human spirit over almost impossible odds, give it a go. It's profound, sad and heart-warming.

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44 out of 45 people found the following review helpful:

Brilliant

Scotfilm from , 26th January, 2008

One of the great films! Will be interesting to see if it picks up any Oscars. Absolutely recommended. Slightly disturbing but well worth the watch. Recommended to see at cinema

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35 out of 45 people found the following review helpful:

oh my god!!!

dawnyw from from Winsford, 13th July, 2008

The worse film ever. the subtitles dont even match the english audio that coinsidentaly u have to put on at the set up menu otherwise its french. very boring,switched off after half hour couldnt put my family thru the pain any longer....

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

A Customer from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, 20th March, 2010

A very hard film to watch, but I am very glad I have seen it. My husband thought it was total rubbish.

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Laugh out loud

Tish2 from , 18th March, 2010

I delayed watching this film because of the subject matter and the artistic style, but in the end it was more watchable than I assumed it would be. The film was initially shown from Jean-Dominique Bauby’s point of view, but it was soon relieved by flash-backs, imaginings and wider views of Jean-Do. I still can’t decide if the style made you feel closer to the victim, or more distanced from him. It might be interesting to compare this with Johnny Got His Gun, another film about a person suffering from ‘locked in’ syndrome. I was also put off from watching the film after reading about the depiction between the relationship with Bauby, his girlfriend and the mother of his children during his hospitalisation, although any film based on ‘true events’ is going to leave someone feeling they have been misrepresented in some way. It would have been easy to leave this as a sentimental weepy – what saves this film from that fate is the barbed sarcastic remarks that often rise from the thoughts of Jean-Do, some of which made me laugh out loud. It is a triumph when a film with such a tragic storyline can make you do that.

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Amazing, inspiring and beautifully made

Cchappell from , 15th March, 2010

Blimey, the review on here! 'Ooh I don’t like it cos its a bit French and sad' a quick read of the subject matter would have told you that. An amazing real story beautifully depicted of the living hell it must be to be trapped in your body with only a blinking eye for contact. Unsentimental, we see and hear the main protagonists thoughts and wishes, his sense of humor and agony at his situation, and then after giving up as everyone does, manages to do something positive with the one thing he has. Yes its sad and some images upsetting, but then what were you expecting? Inspiring. Loved it. A must-see.

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Excellent and thought provoking

A Customer from Wokingham, England, 11th March, 2010

I had read the book a few months before and was amazed at the courage of the author in his life, as it was. The film was just as good which is not normally the case when you have read the story prior to seeing the movie, a rare case indeed which made me even more aware of this director's talent and the author's. In the 3 years that I have rented movies from easydvd only this movie and 1 other (Little Children) have I given a 5-star rating. This is a mature thought-provoking film, so perhaps not for everyone to appreciate. You have to have life-experience to actually absorb the actual reality this film portrays and reflect on it. The author would be proud of the director's approach I think.

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