The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

Of all the Oscar-nominated films, this was the one I dreaded seeing the most. Just thinking about the emotional draining that was sure to occur while watching "the guy who had to blink everything movie" exhausted me. Well, thank you Oscars. Once again, you've forced me to see a marvel of a film that I would've certainly missed otherwise.

For the first portion of the film (probably 45 minutes at least), we're looking at the world from the viewpoint of Jean Dominique "Jean-Do" Bauby -- and what a difficult view it is. Thankfully, Bauby's internal commentary is far from saccharine OR morose. He's quick-witted and condescending, e.g. mentally telling a doctor who wants Jean-Do to think of him as a friend to "just be a DOCTOR," frustratedly dismissing his speech therapist's idea of blinking to communicate as unworkable, and quickly adjusting his conversation with a visitor to fit the haphazard translating job the visitor's doing.

There's beauty, hope, and precious little sentimentality here.

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