A couple of films by people who know how to make them

12/13/07

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Directed by Julian Schnabel
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood from the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby

This movie sounds at first like something you'd want to stay away from. Don't. It tells the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of Elle, who at the age of 42 suffered a massive stroke, leaving his mental faculties intact, but his body paralyzed, with the exception of his left eyelid. You've probably seen inspirational weepers with a basic story outline something like this, but The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is not one of those. This is not a disease/accident/medical drama, where the noble afflicted person and/or family bravely make lemonade out of lemons. This film is about the life that was going on in the brain, behind the blinking eyelid, which he used to spell out, letter by letter, the book on which the film is based. And it’s also about the film-making style of Julian Schnabel, the artist and filmmaker who directed the movie. Schnabel gets into the head—as he imagines it, anyway—of Bauby, and the film is made very much from that perspective.

TVOR doesn’t want to say too much more. Just that you should see it. It’s going to be showing up on a lot of 10-best lists for the year and that’s entirely warranted. The excellent cast is led by Mathieu Amalric. (The money men originally wanted to have Johnny Depp play the part, and the movie made in English. Instead we got Mathieu Amalric and French. And filming in the actual hospital where much of it took place. This is all good.) See The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. You’ll be in for an amazing experience.

I'm Not There
Directed and co-written by Todd Haynes

TVOR liked this film. She didn't totally get it, but she liked it. It's about Bob Dylan, but there's nobody in it named Bob Dylan. There are six characters who represent certain aspects of Dylan at different times, and the characters and the filming style surrounding each are very different. Yet it somehow makes a whole. The best Dylan-like character was played by Cate Blanchett, although there was an African-American kid who was awfully good too. Do you get TVOR's drift here? The soundtrack was excellent--some Dylan by Dylan, some Dylan by other people. If you like Bob Dylan, and are willing to sit back and just experience this consistently interesting film, go for it. Because I'm Not There is not just about Bob Dylan, it's about the times. Which are a-changing. If this sounds like it's a bit much for you, you may be right, you should probably just stay home.


Video notes:

Mathieu Amalric may not be familiar to you. He had a smallish role in Steven Spielberg’s Munich, but really shines in Arnaud Desplechin’s Kings and Queen, a French drama in which the characters’ stories unfold in surprising ways.