The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

2007 drama

Rating: 17/20

Plot: Based on the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who, after suffering a stroke at the age of 42, is unable to speak or move anything but his left eyeball. But he gets to spend lots of time with attractive women and writes a book, so it's all good.

I thought this movie was profoundly moving although I suspect I've been tricked by filmmaker Julian Schnabel by his use of tricky trickery. The music, the experimental camera stuff, a draining script. The whole thing screams, "I'm trying to win awards here!" While watching this, I kept thinking that there was an overwhelming amount of out-of-focus, swirling and discombobulating imagery at the beginning and far too many scenes of the therapist reciting her rearranged alphabet in the second half. However, the quantity of both of those were important, the former because it so effectively helps you to empathize with the protagonist's experience and the latter because it so effectively shows how tedious and painful the communication process had to have been. The effects are nearly overwhelming as Schnabel almost bombards you with this guy's condition. And when you finally get to see actor Mathieu Almaric's portrayal of post-stroke Jean-Do (deep into the movie), it's shocking, especially as it contrasts to the Jean-Do's lifestyle pre-stroke that we see in flashbacks and half-memories. Really, it's only Almaric's eye that is doing any acting here, but it's startling simple performance. This movie really doesn't have much acting in it at all, the story told more with the camera and style than through anything the performers are doing. It reminded me of Clean Shaven, a movie somewhere on this blog, and like that one, parts were tough to watch.

Another happy Cory recommendation.

Buster Keaton Saturday: Arbuckle & Keaton Volume One

Comedy shorts from 1917-1919

Rating: n/r

Plot: Five Fatty/Buster shorts. They're bell boys, butchers, bartenders, and candlestick makers who fall down more than the average bell boys, butchers, bartenders, and candlestick makers.

Was Fatty Arbuckle the first Will Ferrell? With Ferrell, it seems like producers just think of a new job for him to do in every movie. "Let's make him a basketball player." "How about we make him a race car driver this time?" "Hey, he hasn't been a weatherman yet!" Seems to be the same with Fatty, an actor I hadn't seen much of until now. He's fine. He's likable enough for me not to be bothered by Buster only getting a supporting role. Arbuckle's mainly funny because he's a fat guy. It just seems too easy at times. I mean, aren't all fat guys funny? Sometimes I just sit on a park bench waiting for a fat guy to come along so that I can point and laugh. Does that mean I should tape him and have Kino release it? What if the fat guy in the park was in a dress like Fatty is in "The Butcher Boy"? These things aren't terribly funny, barely mildly humorous even. The comedy and what passed as a plot in silent nineteen-teen's shorts are both really typical. There are a lot of clever bits and the physical comedy with both of the players is good, but a very small percentage of this made me laugh or even crack a smile. A couple of these use parody with uneven results. "Out West" pokes fun at the Western, and the humor actually gets pretty black. "Moonshine" has the weirdest title cards I've ever seen, ones that break the fourth wall and continually remind the audience that they're watching a movie. John Coogan, father of Chaplin's The Kid's kid Jackie Coogan, plays a policeman in The Hayseed. There probably aren't a lot of people to whom I'd recommend these, but I do have a second volume I'll get around to watching some time.