The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

France 112mins Drama in French with English subtitles Rating: M

This Academy Award nominated 2007 film directed by Julian Schnabel is based on the French memoir Le Scaphandre et le Papillon by Jean-Dominique Bauby. The film describes Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 43, which left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The condition paralyzed him; his only remaining means of communication was the blinking of his left eyelid. As Bauby comes to grips with his new life inside what sometimes feels like a diving bell under the sea, he begins to use the unaffected part of his humanity: his imagination, which floats like a butterfly across an interior world he has to create for himself. Deep inside, he comes across memories and emotions that are woven into his life. Taking us from great depths to ethereal heights, this extraordinary true story is an inspiring reinforcement of inextinguishable inner strength and determination in the face of unimaginable adversity.