Version Details

Cast

• Marina Hands - Josephine
• Marie-Josée Croze - Henriette Durand
• Olatz Lopez Garmendia - Marie Lopez
• Mathieu Amalric - Jean-Dominique Bauby
• Anne Consigny - Claude
• Franck Victor - Paul
• Theo Sampaio
• Theo Sampaio - Théophile
• Fiorella Campanella
• Fiorella Campanella - Céleste
• Max von Sydow - Papinou
• Max von Sydow
• Emmanuelle Seigner - Celine Desmoulin
• Niels Arestrup - Roussin
• Jean-Pierre Cassel
• Jean-Pierre Cassel - Father Lucien
• Patrick Chesnais - Dr. Lepage
• Isaach de Bankolé
• Isaach de Bankolé - Laurent
• Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre - Diane
• Agathe de la Fontaine - Inès
• Emma de Caunes - Empresse Eugénie
• Azzedine Alaia - Azzedine Alaia
• Talina Boyaci - Hortense
• Georges Roche - Fourneau
• Yves-Marie Coppin - Fisherman
• Daniel Lapostolle - Auxiliary Nurse 1
• Francis Filloux - Night Nurse
• Elvis Polanski - Jean-Do as a Child
• Sara Seguela - Paraplegic at Lourdes
• Vasile Negru - Violinist
• Ilze Bajare - Model
• Anna Chyzh - Model
• Antoine Breant - Jean-Baptiste Mondino's Assistant
• Farida Khelfa - Farida Khelfa
• Jean-Baptiste Mondino - Jean-Baptiste Mondino
• Michael Wincott - Michael Wincott
• Lenny Kravitz - Lenny Kravitz
• Francoise Lebrun - Madame Bauby
• Philippe Roux - Auxiliary Nurse
• Anne Alvaro - Betty
• François Delaive - Nurse
• Jean-Philippe Ecoffey - Noirtier de Villefort
• Jean-Philippe Ecoffey - Doctor Mercier
• Marie Meyer - Model
• Nicholas Le Riche - Nijinski
• Zinedine Soualem - Joubert
• Emmanuelle Seigner - Céline Desmoulin
• Mathieu Amalric - Jean-Dominique 'Jean Do' Bauby
• Max von Sydow - Young Papinou
• Marina Hands - Joséphine
• Patrick Chesnais - Doctor Lepage
• Marie-Josée Croze - Henriette Roi
• Gerard Watkins - Doctor Cocheton

Crew

• Associate Producer: Leonard Glowinski
• Set Designer: Laurent Ott
• Producer: Jon Kilik
• Sound/Sound Designer: Dominique Gaborieau ,Jean-Paul Mugel
• Editor: Juliette Welfling
• Director: Julian Schnabel
• Musical Direction/Supervision: Julian Schnabel
• Costume Designer: Olivier Beriot
• Executive Producer: Jim Lemley
• First Assistant Director: Stephane Gluck
• Visual Effects Supervisor: Malika Mazaurie
• Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski
• Producer: Kathleen Kennedy
• Sound/Sound Designer: Francis Wargnier
• Visual Effects: Jenny Eclair
• Book Author: Jean-Dominique Bauby
• Set Designer: Michel Eric
• Executive Producer: Pierre Grunstein
• Screenwriter: Ronald Harwood
• Visual Effects Supervisor: Yann Blondel
• Composer (Music Score): Paul Cantelon
• Line Producer: Francois-Xavier Decraene
• Executive Producer: Pierre Frunstein
• Makeup: Florence Batteault
• Script Supervisor: Sylvette Baudrot
• Second Assistant Director: Mathilde Cavillan
• Makeup: Sandrine Cirilli ,Elisabeth Delesalle
• Hair Styles: Thierry Di-Cecca
• Makeup Special Effects: Geoffrey Felley
• Unit Production Manager: Stéphen Guillemet
• Stunts Coordinator: Pascal Guégan
• Key Make-up: Myriam Hottois
• Hair Styles: Laure Moulin
• Location Manager: Stéphanie Noël
• Makeup: Chloé Van Lierde
• Location Manager: Jean-Noël Vincensini
• Makeup Special Effects: Olivier Alonso
• Camera Operator: Gilbert "Berto" Lecluyse
• Steadicam Operator: Joerg Widmer
• Casting: Gerard Moulevrier
• Production Manager: Francois-Xavier Decraene

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: AMG Review
Derek Armstrong , AMG

Julian Schnabel danced up to the edge of greatness in Basquiat and Before Night Falls; with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, he plunges in headfirst. To call this a sophisticated achievement is a massive understatement, failing to appreciate how much nuance, warmth and uniqueness of perspective is poured into Schnabel's third film. The fact that it's filmed in French, a foreign tongue for the director, only adds to the feat. "Language," in the abstract, supremely interests a visual artist like Schnabel, and it's at the forefront of the true story of Jean-Dominique ("Jean-Do") Bauby, a paralyzed stroke victim who dictates an entire memoirs through eyelid blinks. Every affliction imaginable has been dramatized on film, but maybe we've never imagined something quite like locked-in syndrome. Bauby's fully functioning mind has only a single eyeball as an outlet for expression, and must spell out words by blinking to select letters from the alphabet, recited according to frequency of use. This could be the sole concentration of a really interesting film. But screenwriter Ronald Harwood has adapted Bauby's memoirs as a full-blooded character study, with a crucial assist from Mathieu Amalric, who excels at both ends of Bauby's spectrum: the carefree magazine editor, seen in flashback waltzing through photo shoots of half-naked models, and the gnarled human shell whose single eye darts about wildly, in an apparent state of permanent panic. Schnabel employs a variety of camera angles and techniques to mimic Jean-Do's perspective, as well as a recurring visual metaphor for his condition: a deep sea diver plunged to the depths, incommunicado. So effectively does Schnabel put us in his shoes, Jean-Do becomes our John Doe -- an ordinary man fighting through extraordinary circumstances. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly explodes every preconceived notion about disease movies, on its way to becoming one of the most striking films ever made about how people communicate. The moving supporting performances -- including the quartet of women at his side, and Max von Sydow as his elderly father -- complete this rich and emotionally fulfilling package. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: AMG Review
Derek Armstrong , AMG

Julian Schnabel danced up to the edge of greatness in Basquiat and Before Night Falls. With The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, he plunges in headfirst. To call this a sophisticated achievement is a massive understatement, failing to appreciate how much nuance, warmth, and uniqueness of perspective is poured into Schnabel's third film. The fact that it's shot in French, a foreign tongue for the director, only adds to the feat. "Language," in the abstract sense, interests a visual artist like Schnabel greatly, and language is at the forefront of the true story of Jean-Dominique ("Jean-Do") Bauby, a paralyzed stroke victim who dictates his memoirs through eyelid blinks. Every affliction imaginable has been dramatized on film, but maybe we've never imagined something quite like locked-in syndrome. Bauby's fully functioning mind has only a single eyeball as an outlet for expression, and must spell out words by selecting them one letter at a time, blinking when the appropriate letter is recited to him. This could be the sole concentration of a really interesting film. But screenwriter Ronald Harwood has adapted Bauby's memoirs as a full-blooded character study, with a crucial assist from lead actor Mathieu Amalric, who excels at both ends of Bauby's spectrum: the carefree magazine editor, seen in flashbacks waltzing through glamorous photo shoots, and the gnarled human shell whose single eye darts about wildly, in an apparent state of permanent panic. Schnabel employs a variety of camera angles and techniques to mimic Jean-Do's perspective, as well as a recurring visual metaphor for his condition: a deep-sea diver plunged down to the depths, totally incommunicado. So effectively does Schnabel put us in his shoes, Jean-Do becomes our John Doe -- an ordinary man grappling (or sometimes failing to grapple) with extraordinary circumstances. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly explodes our preconceived notions about disease movies, emerging as one of the most striking films ever made about communication. The moving supporting performances -- including the quartet of women at his side, and Max von Sydow as his elderly father -- complete this rich and emotionally fulfilling package. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide