Sightlines · reception
How The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was received
2007 · Julian Schnabel · The Diving Bell and the Butterfly on Sightlines
The arc
A Cannes 2007 sensation — Best Director for Schnabel, four Oscar nods, instant 'best of the year' consensus — and unlike many awards darlings it hasn't faded: it's still routinely cited as a high point of 2000s cinema and, for many, the last time Schnabel was untouchable.
What’s debated
Film fans still argue over whether its portrayal of the women in Bauby's life is fair — his real-life partner publicly disputed how the film depicted who was, and wasn't, at his bedside.
Its footprint
The first-person, blinking-eye POV of Janusz Kamiński's camera became one of the most referenced formal gambits of its decade — a go-to example whenever anyone discusses subjective camera, and the film that put 'locked-in syndrome' into the wider cultural vocabulary.
Where it stands
A cinephile staple rather than a cult item — fixture of best-of-2007 and best-cinematography lists, and a 'you must see this' recommendation for anyone who thinks they know what a biopic looks like.
Did you know? Johnny Depp was originally attached to play Bauby but dropped out amid Pirates of the Caribbean commitments — and Schnabel, an American who barely spoke the language, then insisted on making the film in French with Mathieu Amalric rather than in English.