Do you think it's difficult to write a book? And what if your body was totally paralyzed, except for your left eye, and you couldn't even articulate any sound? Impossible? Well, it was not for Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of the magazine Elle, who, in 1995, at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that left him in a state of total paralysis, incapable of any verbal communication, although his mental faculties were intact, in what is known in the medical community as "locked-in syndrome."
The movie Le Scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) shows this true story based on the book of the same name, written by Jean-Do, as he was called by his friends. Jean-Do used only his left eye and a special card with the alphabet prepared by his speech therapist to "dictate" the whole book, letter by letter. His assistant recited the alphabet over and over again and he blinked at each letter he wanted, until words and phrases were composed.
The story is touching and moving, as he describes his memoirs and the aspects of his interior world, with the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body. Some scenes are even funny, due to the sarcastic and ironic comments Jean-Do makes of his own situation.
Don't miss it, but get a huge box of Kleenex by your side!
The movie Le Scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) shows this true story based on the book of the same name, written by Jean-Do, as he was called by his friends. Jean-Do used only his left eye and a special card with the alphabet prepared by his speech therapist to "dictate" the whole book, letter by letter. His assistant recited the alphabet over and over again and he blinked at each letter he wanted, until words and phrases were composed.
The story is touching and moving, as he describes his memoirs and the aspects of his interior world, with the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body. Some scenes are even funny, due to the sarcastic and ironic comments Jean-Do makes of his own situation.
Don't miss it, but get a huge box of Kleenex by your side!
