The Diving Bell and the Butterfly · reception & legacy
2007 · Julian Schnabel
How The Diving Bell and the Butterfly has been received, argued over, and remembered.
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.