The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Look! He's waking. - Dr. Cocheton, come to room 119.
Dr. Cocheton to room 119, please.
No, no, Jean-Dominique, open your eyes.
Keep your eyes open.
Mr Bauby, keep your eyes open.
You've been asleep for a long time. Can you hear me?
I hear you.
What is happening...?
Jesus. I'm in a hospital.
Mr Bauby, keep your eyes open.
Try to keep them open, please.
Good man. Follow the light with your eyes.
Great.
Don't be alarmed. You're in a hospital.
I'm a doctor. My name's Cocheton. These are nurses.
We're here to take care of you.
Do you remember what happened?
Do You remember what happened?
I said. Vaguely.
You're in the Naval Hospital, Berck-sur-Mer.
On the coast. In Calais.
You were treated first in Paris, and then...
brought here.
Do you remember that? - Not really.
You see, Jean-Dominique...
you've had a stroke.
You've been in a coma for almost three weeks.
But now you're waking up and you'll be fine.
I promise you.
Thanks
I'm just going to give you a few simple tests.
I want you to keep your eyes on me.
Good. You understand.
Yes, Yes.
When I say blink, please blink.
Excellent.
Now, tell me your name.
Jean-Dominique Bauby.
Come on, try hard, say your name.
I did. - Try saying your name.
Jean-Dominique Bauby.
Try saying your children's names.
Théophile, Céleste, Hortense.
All right, don't worry.
It's a slow process. Your speech will come back.
What? Can't you hear me, Doctor? Doctor?
Oh, Christ. I can't speak.
They can't hear me.
I can't speak.
What's happened to me?
My name is Jean-Dominique Bauby.
Doctor?
It's okay, okay.
All right, I've had a stroke - my speech...
will come back. My memory will come back
It will take some time, Mr Bauby. We will take care of you.
I'll be patient
Okay...
I believe you.
Who brought the flowers?
Roses.
Click, click...
Inès.
How did you sleep?
Now let's see...
This morning you have an important visitor.
Dr. Lepage, your neurologist...
so we want you at your best.
If I could only be that frog.
Hello. My name is Alain Lepage, I'm your neurologist.
You know Dr. Cocheton.
Jean-Dominique... No. Your friends call...
you Jean-Do...
so that is how I will address you.
I want you to think of me as your friend,
Just be my doctor.
Jean-Do, I know how difficult this is for you.
No one has told you the extent of...
your condition. That is my job...yes, my job.
You've had what we call a cerebrovascular accident.
It has put your brain stem out of action.
The brain stem is an essential component...
of our internal computer...
the link between the brain and the spinal cord.
In the past, we would have said you suffered ...
a massive near-fatal stroke.
But now with some improved techniques...
we're able to prolong life.
Is this life? Is this life?
Yes, prolong life.
I'm not going to mince words.
You are paralyzed from head to toe.
And, as you now must have realized,
you are unable to speak.
The name for your condition is...
'locked-in syndrome'.
It will be of no comfort to you but your condition is extremely rare.
And we simply don't know the cause of it.
You do not smoke, you drink with moderation...
So, I'm afraid it's just without explanation.
However, apart from being totally paralyzed...
we believe you are normal in every other respect.
Normal? - So there is hope.
We know you have good brain function.
You're able to understand us.
You follow our movements with your eyes.
But I'm not content with your right eye.
That muscle isn't working well.
And there is no irrigation.
We may need to cover it ...or not.
Cover it?
What is covered?
I may need a second opinion on that...
We want you to take it easy for a few days.
What do you think I'm doing now?
Very soon two beautiful women will visit you.
I envy you because when I say beautiful,
I mean beautiful.
They're therapists and they're miracle workers.
And so, as I say, there's hope.
You already said that.
I'll come again, soon.
How nice. Leave. You will be well looked after.
Oh Christ. Noirtier de Villefort...
Hello.
I'm dead and I've gone to heaven.
I'm Henriette.
I'm Marie.
I'm told you can blink your eyes.
I want you to blink once for yes, twice for no.
What luck. I've got these two by my bed and I'm helpless.
Can you read what this says?
Good. - Are you married?
I'm the Physical Therapist, and my job is to get you to swallow.
I'll be working on your tongue and lips.
Sounds fun. - And I'm the Speech Therapist...
We need to find a way for you to communicate...
until you can speak again.
Honestly, We have never treated this condition.
Great.
There will be much work. - So, we won't waste time.
I just came to introduce myself. See you later.
See you later.
Jean-Do, I want you to know...
this is the most important job I've ever undertaken.
And I'm determined to succeed.
With your help, of course.
We're going to start by asking some more questions.
Okay?
Remember, you answer by blinking, once for yes...
or twice for no.
Am I a man?
Am I a woman?
Is the sun too bright for you?
Is it midnight now?
Strange questions. - Are we in Paris?
Are we in Berck?
Does wood float on water? - What do you think.
do you remember having your stroke?
Were you the editor of Elle magazine?
I was the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine.
Your right eye isn't working properly.
Did you hear me?
Your right eye isn't working. I have to sew it up.
Sew it up? - It will be alright.
It will prevent an ulcerated cornea.
I would have been here sooner, but I've been skiing.
St. Moritz is wonderful this time of year.
You fool.
There is nothing like sailing down a slope with the wind in your face.
Don't come near me.
Don't touch me.
Please, no.
No, Doctor. Please.
No, please don't . God, please. Don't do it.
I have done it a thousand times.
Don't worry.
I am almost done. Almost...
Very good.
There. Finished.
We're here to dress you. Good for the morale.
Then we have a surprise.
Good. Now try him in the wheelchair.
Great.
Wheel him around, will you?
Turn.
I want to be sure that sitting like that...
won't trigger uncontrolled muscular spasms.
Understand? - Yes.
He needs a cushion for his head. - Sorry bear with us.
Excellent, excellent.
You can handle the wheelchair.
Excellent? This sounds like a life sentence.
And now for the surprise.
Oh my God, who's that?
Is it me?
I look as if I was submerged...
in a vat of formaldehyde.
How terrible.
Is this my surprise? To see myself
Céline.
How are you? I better explain.
Isn't this a wonderful surprise, Jean-Do? Your first visitor. Your wife.
She's not my wife. She's the mother of my children.
He understands everything. Everything.
If you ask a question, make it a yes-or-no question.
He'll blink. Once for yes, twice for no.
It is important to speak to him...
here in front of him. Okay?
If you stand here, he can't see you... or over here.
Speak to him here. Yes,Jean-Do?
I'll go. I'm sure you have a lot to say to each other.
They say that you're...
Everyone prays for you and hopes the bests for you.
I didn't bring the children.
I wanted to see you first.
The children are okay. They miss you.
Céleste prays every evening for you.
Do you want me to bring them?
You don't want to see them.
Laurent wants to visit. Do you want to see him?
Him? You want to see him.
I'll tell him.
Has she already visited you?
I've met the speech therapist. I like her.
She thinks that she can help you.
I beg you...
Please, don't cry.
I know Berck station.
I can see it now.
It's the most depressing place in the world.
It certainly was when I had holidays here as a boy.
The end of summer.
Waiting for the train to Paris with my father.
It was desolate then... and must feel more desolate now.
I have treated her so badly. And the children too.
And now I can never make up for it.
Not at all.
Look at this.
This is not the alphabet you learned in school.
The letters are listed in the order of the frequency of their use. Understand?
E, S, A, R, I, N, T,U,L, O,M,D,P,C,F....
Frequency of use?
I have done research, and discussed it with my colleagues...
in the hope we can create a working system.
Good for you. - This is how it works...
Think of what you wish to say. then use blinks.
I will read out the letters slowly one by one.
When I say your first letter, blink.
I write it down, and we go to the next letter.
So we make words and phrases.
One more thing: If a word is finished, give two blinks.
As if you were typing. If I make the wrong letter, you blink rapidly.
It does not sound easy, but it will work.
Your friends and family will profit too.
Are you ready,Mr. Bauby? Look at me.
Do you want to try? You have something to say?
Very well.
Let's try it. - Wait, no...
Let me think what I will say. - E.
Is E your first letter? - No.
E is not the first letter.
I don't even know what to say.
I know this is difficult. We'll go slowly.
E, S, A...
This goes too slow.
I can't keep my eye open this long.
Hurry up.
I.
I? - Bravo.
Is I your first letter?
My first word is I. I start with myself.
E, S...
S?
No. - No?
Not S. That went too fast.
This will never work. Your idea is a nightmare.
Do we continue?
Noirtier de Villefort
Just leave me alone.
Up, down, up.
Under my arms.
The back of my legs.
I am 42 years old...
and I'm handled like a big baby.
My ass is washed and diapered.
It's simply laughable.
But as the poet said:
Only crazy people laugh when there is nothing to laugh about.
I want you to blow me a kiss.
Say what?
Go ahead.
Try it.
Go ahead.
Try.
It is difficult. - Please, no mirror.
You have to do this. - Not that face.
When you're resting or watching TV,
I want you to blow me kisses.
Okay? - Yes.
Another thing you should practice...
Is sliding your tongue...
to the back of your palate.
That's how you'll learn to swallow. Watch.
God, this isn't fair. Not fair at all.
Your turn. - Away with that mirror.
Open your mouth.
Good.
Try sliding your tongue backwards.
I can't do it. - Go on, try it.
I can't do it.
That's great. You moved your tongue.
Don't make me do this, Dear. - Do it again.
Incredible. It's good. - It's weird.
I will help you to move your head... Like this.
You're doing it all. - And left.
Very good.
Now right. Good.
And left again.
Do you feel my hands on your face?
No.
Never mind. You will.
We all feel honoured to have you here.
I'm a regular reader of Elle. I love it.
But I think all the models look like boys.
Do you think? - They are all becoming so thin.
A strange trend.
She is so beautiful.
I have a strong faith. I pray for you every day.
He can only see with his right eye.
Look at him directly when you speak.
Who is this?
Pierre Roussin. - Hello.
Do you recognize me? - Of course.
He blinks once for yes...
I never called him back.
should I leave? - No,no. - Please stay.
Why haven't I called him back?
I heard what had happened to you...
and I wanted...
No. I was compelled to come because of what happened to me.
In a way, I know what you're going through.
Being taken hostage is not so different...
from your situation.
You understand? - Hostage?
Jean-Dominique was kind enough to give me his seat on a plane.
The flight was hijacked and I...
became a hostage in Beirut. 4 years...
4 years,4 months, 2 weeks, 5 days...
and 7 hours.
I was held in a small, dark cellar.
It was hard to breathe.
I called it my tomb...
I know about wines. - What happened to his hands?
Each day I recited aloud the classes...
of the best Bordeaux wines from 1855.
Château Margaux, Château Lafite Rotschild, etc...
That kept me sane. Or what passed for sanity.
Most of the time I was desperate, suicidal and angry.
The beatings, the filth, the cruelty...
especially the waiting. That was the worst.
But I survived...
by keeping a grip...
on my own humanity.
I had no choice.
That's all I had... Just like you.
Cling to your own humanity and you will survive.
Humanity? Not easy. - I had to come and say this to you.
Why didn't I call him after he returned from Beruit?
I felt guilty.
I had to tell you. - I am ashamed of myself.
V?
E?
I want?
What do you want , Mr Bauby?
M.
O.
U.
R. Mourir. To die.
You want to die?
How can you say that?
There are people who love you, who care for you.
I hardly know you, but I care for you already.
You're alive. So don't say that you want to die.
It's an offense. It's obscene.
Do you want to continue?
Very well.
I hope you will change your mind.
I apologize.
Why? - I went too far.
Rest well.
Do you like it.
I didn't really know what to bring.
I also brought this.
One moment -What are you doing?
What is that?
Oh no. I will look like a rabbit.
I'll read the letters and you blink.
Okay?
Just leave. - Okay?
S or A? - You chose.
A. - Okay then, A.
N?
Okay, N.
Anna.
You must look at me, Laurent. - Sorry.
I forgot to look at you.
Sorry, I'll start again. Slower.
Whatever...
Too funny.
I've never been a good hospital visitor.
I usually brings grapes and then eat them.
This is aweful.
Why did this happen to you?
You hear people talking. Yesterday in Cafe de Flore...
Someone said, 'Did you know that ...
Jean-Do is now a complete vegetable?'
Vegtable? - He can't see you there.
Who said that?
Am I a carrot, a potato, a Kosher pickle?
Yes, go. Go on. Leave the carrot.
Noirtier de Villefort
Today my whole life seems like...
nothing but a chain of small failures.
The women I was unable to love...
the opportunities missed...
moments of chance that I let escape.
A race whose result I knew in advance...
but in which I never made a bet on the winner.
Was I blind or deaf?
Or did I need a disaster...
to see the truth about myself.
I'm still here.
Are you feeling more co-operative?
Good.
We're going to master this.
Are you ready? - Yes, Teacher.
Very well.
I'll begin.
M?
E?
R?
C? Merci?
Thank you?
Thank you.
May I call you Jean-Do?? - Women are so uncomplicated.
Thank you, Jean-Do.
J?
A? I have?
I have decided not to pity myself any longer.
Two of my parts other than my right eye are not paralyzed.
My imagination...
and my memory.
Imagination and memory are what I must use....
to escape my diving bell.
I have realized I can imagine anything, anyone, anywhere.
I can feel the waves caress me on the Isle of Martinique.
I can visit the women I love....
Bow down before...
Ozymandias, king of kings.
I can imagine anything at all.
I make my childhood dreams live; or my ambitions as an adult.
And now I choose to remember myself as I was.
Handsome, debonair, glamorous, and devilishly attractive.
Yes. Glamorous and handsome.
This about me... not Marlon Brando.
THIS IS ME.
Is this Betty Mialet? - ' Yes, this is she '.
I am Henriette Durand, I'm a therapist at Berck sur Mer.
I'm calling on behalf of a patient, Jean-Dominique Bauby.
Jean-Do? How is he?
Okay, but... - I have heard that he was paralyzed...
' he can't communicate with anyone. '
That's not absolutely accurate
Come in.
I called to ask if you could do something for him.
Of course. One moment.
' What does he want? '
He says that he has a book contract with you.
He said...? I thought he couldn't speak?
He communicates. I will explain later.
About this book...
Yes, he has a contract with us,...
but now, given the circumstances... - He wants to do it.
To write the book.
' I beg your pardon. It's not possible. '
I assure you it is possible for him.
But, do you think you can find someone to take his dictation?
Someone with patience.
Someone available each day. A special someone.
I understand. I'll call you back.
Betty Mialet said Claude Mendibil was sent from heaven...
perfect for this type of work.
Betty always exaggerates. I have to practice first with Henriette.
No problem. It won't take long.
He wants to say something.
A?
Don't panic.
Claude has taken a room in Berck. You should...
make a schedule.
The nurse wakes me at 5 a.m., then I decide what I will write.
You can come at 8 and I will dictate what I've prepared.
Very well. I'll do my best. - I'm sure of it.
Can we can start tomorrow? - Yes sir.
Behind? - Behind the frayed curtain of my window...
a pale glow announces the breaking of day.
My feet hurt, my head weighs a ton.
My body is a prisoner in this invisible diving-bell.
I compose these bed-ridden travel notes,...
...as a castaway on the shores of lonliness.
This Hospital was once a home for children with tuberculosis.
In the large hall stands a white marble bust of...
Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III...
the founder of the hospital.
She came frequently.
It has been a fat farm, a school, a place...
where the great Diaghilev rehearsed his Ballet Russe.
It was here that Nijinsky reportedly...
leapt 12 feet into the air.
No one here now leaps in the air.
Now everyone here is elderly and weak, or like me...
rigid and mute.
A battalion of cripples.
I enjoy being wheeled to a spot...
which I call Cinecittà .
A deserted terrace that opens on a landscape...
that has a poetic charm like a movie set.
A handful of buildings at the...
foot of the dune look like a ghost town in a Western.
When I see the suburbs of Berck,...
it's like a miniature train lay-out.
The white foam of the sea is almost created by special effects.
My favorite sight of all is the lighthouse.
Tall, robust, reassuring in red and white stripes.
I accept the protection...
of this symbol of brotherhood...
guardian not only of sailors...
but of the sick whom...
fate has cast to the far edges of life.
' The two peaks of this mini museum:
the white marble bust...
which embodies the radiating youth...
of a princess who died at age 94;
...and also her empire. '
Five hours of work. Not too bad.
But, I'm no Balzac.
Do I continue?
I read Balzac.
' It was well to hear nothing.' - Graham Greene.
' Then, incidentally, it became clear.'
' Suddenly a policeman beat him. '
' This was rather shocking to him. '
' He belonged to the upper class which...
viewed the police as protection. '
' I am 45, divorced, and I want to call the consulate...
regarding this policeman that called me a pig...
and demand his passport. '
What's this? - Is it a man or a woman?
I think a man. - He winked at you.
Pardon, but you have ordered a phone with loud-spreakers?
Did you order a telephone?
We can come back later.
What are you doing here? Who let you in?
We're from the telephone company.
Then you should check in at reception. - Nobody was there.
Then put it on the table, please.
Be careful, please.
We will tell your friends and family...
then they can arrange times to call.
We will be sure then that there is someone with you.
Excuse me. Can't he talk? - Don't act like he's not here.
Do you have a question for him?
Excuse me. If he can't speak...
why does he want a phone?
Maybe he's a heavy breather.
Do you think you're funny? Ha ha ha...
How dare they.
You have no sense of humor, Henriette.
A big black fly lands on my nose.
I twist my head to shake him off.
He just sits there.
Olympic wrestling is nothing in comparison.
You moved your head. When did you start that?
Thank you.
Now?
It's wonderful. You moved your head.
Always Marie sees miracles.
Dr. Lepage, he has moved his head.
Hello.
A miracle: only one 'hello'.
Progress. Progress. - Ha. This is better.
Show me your tongue. I'll open your mouth.
There. - He moved it a little.
Then his speech will begin to progress.
The tongue is essential. There is hope.
Great, this is terrific.
We will work very hard, so you can begin to eat.
A book does not exist until it is read.
I recall giving my father a shave.
I visited him one week before my accident.
He was not well, so I spent the night...
in his apartment in Paris.
In the morning I shaved him. - Leave me be.
Who cares if I am shaved or not?
I do.
I am terrified. - Of what?
Of you shaving me.
You were always so damned clumsy. - It runs in the family.
Yes.
Coffee? - No. No.
Don't tire him. He's not well.
How can a shave tire him?
Your mother was prettier. - That wouldn't be difficult.
Do you still think of your Mother? - Oh, that.
You always ask me that and I always say the same thing: ...not really.
What are you reading at the moment?
Re-reading. The Count of Monte Cristo.
Why?
I'm thinking of writing a modern version.
Of the Count of Monte Cristo? - Yes.
Vengeance will still be the driving force...
but set in today's world, with the main character a woman.
The Countess of Monte Cristo? - Yes, a woman.
I don't want to read it.
I haven't written it yet.
I have a contract with a publisher.
If you cut me, I'll take you to court.
The doctor was here yesterday. - And?
He said that I would live to be 100.
Great. We can make a big celebration.
I won't attend. Who wants to live to be a hundred?
Jean-Do, Don't tell a soul.
I still miss your mother.
I won't tell. It will be our secret.
You should have married Céline.
What difference would it have made?
You wouldn't have left her so easily...
and your children.
Can we talk about this another time?
I know what I'm talking about.
No one had more affairs than I did. Well, perhaps Casanova.
An affair is not enough reason to leave...
the mother of your children.
There are no standards anymore.
It's not funny, it's true.
Bring your children to see me. Céline brings them.
You need to also.
Well, I've spent enough time with this.
What's that?
Orange blossom. - Should I smell like a tart?
It's an aphrodisiac.
That will make the girls come running.
Certainly, if they had the chance to smell you.
Let me look at myself.
Not bad. They don't make them like me anymore.
I, I wanted to tell you something. - Eh?
I can't remember. - It will come back.
I'm not so sure.
Not much comes back anymore. - Don't exaggerate.
Oh, yes. I remember what I wanted to tell you.
I am proud of you. Really, very very proud.
And another thing...
I've forgotten.
My father's approval. I found it comforting then...
...and I find it even more so now. We are all children.
We all need recognition.
I want to see my children.
Here we are. It's Father's Day.
Happy Father's Day, Papa.
Even a rough sketch, a shadow...
a tiny fragment of a dad is still a dad.
Father's Day. My son wiping the saliva that...
escapes my lips.
We never before celebrated this farcical holiday.
You cry because you did not...
marry with such a beautiful boy.
Claude says you make good progress on the book.
It's fantastic that you're writing it.
You are the most wonderful man that I know.
Have you had many visitors?
Laurent, Anne-Marie...
...Michel...
Has she been? No, hmm?
Isn't she hopelessly in love with you?
Well, it's her business.
Should we practice the alphabet?
' When I began a diet a week before my stroke,...
I never dreamed of such dramatic results.
This is radical.' - You're crazy.
'Now they know how it is to have a zombie...
for a father. Thank you.'
That's not nice.
Kids.
Do you want to play Hangman, Papa?
I'll help you. Whisper a word.
The first letter is C. The last is E.
There are 7 letters.
The kangaroo has leaped over the wall...
over the the wall of the zoo.
Oh my, he jumped so high.
Oh my, he was so beautiful. Oh my, he jumped so high.
That's all.
Says good-bye to Papa, Kids. Let's go.
Bye, Papa.
Bye, Papa. Until next week.
There are no words to express the grief that surges over me.
I, their father, can't even ruffle their hair...
hug their necks...
or hold their warm bodies against me.
However, I am happy to see them living, moving...
and laughing.
I call that a beautiful day.
I'm feeling sorry for myself again. No?
You were genuinely happy.
You think?
Perhaps.
Make this kick.
Away from the T.V.
Oh, shit. Sheesh.
See you later. - Yeh. Later.
What are you doing?
Oh, God.
No T.V. dinner tonight.
Where will I dine this evening?
I want to treat myself to a feast...
at Le Duc.
What a coincidence to find you here. - Isn't it incredible?
An oyster?
It seems like it was just yesterday when I first heard your name.
Soft.
Stop it. I don't like compliments.
What is the next chapter.
Sunday. Sundays are frightening.
If someone turns on the T.V. for you,...
you have to be alert not to miss it.
It is high strategy.
Maybe you will have to wait 3 hours.
Before a Samaritan turns it back on.
Terrible Sundays.
No speech therapy, no psycho-therapy.
No physical therapy. No visitors.
Bare-bones staff.
Sunday is a long desert excursion.
But today, Marie has nobly suggested she take me to Mass.
I explained to her that I am not religious,
but that was in vain.
Everywhere people are praying for me.
First on the list is my daughter, Céleste.
And Marie...naturally.
The most diverse deities have been evoked...
to help me.
In Nepal they chant a mantra for me.
In Cameroon a medicine man has procured...
the goodwill of the African gods.
I have delegated my right eye to him.
I can't deny it. I've tried to organize...
this vast spiritual energy...
to salvage my existence.
It may not be admirable,
it may even be hypocritical, but I'll try anything.
I'm glad to see you here.
I came to visit you a few days ago...
I came to give you Communion...
but you were sleeping.
Yes, that's right. - What?
Do you want to take communion now? No.
Yes. - Do you want to be blessed?
No. - Yes.
Lord, have mercy on Jean-Dominique...
who is cruelly afflicted.
Help his body to heal and keep his spirits light.
Help him to find faith. - My spirit is already lighted.
In the name of the Father...
You fucked me good.
My?
My Father?
My Father, There are priests in bordeaux...
who pray regularly for me.
That's good to hear.
But there have been no results.
We must have patience. - Yes. That's what the doctors say.
Perhaps I can make a proposal?
Soon, I will make a pilgrimage trip...
to Lourdes.
Lourdes?
Marie and I thought that you might want to go.
I smell a trap. - Miracles have happened there.
It's true. - I've already been to Lourdes.
Why don't we stop and go back. - I am not turning back.
It is my car. I'll drive where I want.
You said you wanted a dirty week-end. - I never said that.
We can't have a dirty week-end in Lourdes. It just isn't right.
You only have one thing on your mind.
I want to see the Madonna.
I don't believe you.
I want to see it and to drink the water.
Spare me, please.
You can do it too. It would be good for you.
Impressive. Huh?
Pfft.
I'll go buy bottles for the water.
I've had it. I won't stay here.
You're wrong. It might be good for you.
Don't be so sure, it might be dangerous.
Imagine what might happen to a healthy person by the...
appearing of the Madonna. They could be paralyzed.
You're terrible.
Hello. - Hello, Miss.
Look, I have found my Madonna.
Forget it.
I don't want anything more to do with you.
Okay. Okay. I'll give it to you as a present.
Madame has a good eye. This Madonna...
was blessed by the Cardinal.
Do you have more 318's? - Look in the magazines.
How much is it? - 300 euro.
That much?
Don't we know each other? - No sir, I don't think so.
I have no change.
I can't make love with her watching. - I understand.
I wasn't stating fact. I was complaining.
Let me turn it off.
No.
It's the only one blessed by the Cardinal.
Josephine, back in Paris, we will have to seperate.
Because of her? - No, because of everything.
Fine. You're right.
I'm going out.
Turn off the light.
But not my Madonna.
Go ahead, Jean-Do.
If you can say ' La ' you can also swallow .
Even say 'Lourdes'.
Are you in a comfortable position?
' The Pressure-Cooker ' can be the title of the piece...
that I will write concerning my experiences here.
Or I can call it ' One Eye ' or ' Diving Bell '.
The plot and location have been determined.
A hospital room. Here Mr. L., in the prime of life...
with locked-in syndrome, strains to find...
life after a severe stroke.
Ambitious and a little cynical,...
since he knew nothing of failure,...
...Mr. L. learns to acknowledge his dire distress.
We follow this slow transformation...
via a personal inner-narration,...
expressing the feelings of Mr. L.
I have the last scene already. - It is night.
Mr L. has been immobile from the very opening.
Suddenly he throws off his blankets...
and jumps off the bed.
Then it becomes dark and we hear...
this monologue from Mr L.,...
' Fuck. It was just a dream. '
Stand up. You can stand up.
All is well.
' I want to remember what has happened to me.'
You want me to ask someone?
No?
Hello. Room 119.
This is Claude. I'm here with Jean-Do.
' This is his father. '
Yes. We had expected your phone call.
What do I need to do? Speak normally?
' Jean-Do can understand you. He will answer you. '
' You will hear me say letters... ' - Yes. Céline explained it to me.
' Start when you're ready, Mr. Bauby. '
Can he hear me?
Jean-Dominique, It's Papa.
' I'm sitting by the open window. '
' How goes it with you? - Oh. It's a stupid question. '
Yes. It is.
I miss you.
I miss you , too.
It's really impossible to have a conversation like this.
I forgot everything that I wanted to say. No. I remember.
I've sent you a gift. A surprise.
I've been reflecting...
concerning us. - We are in the same boat.
I'm trapped in this apartment, and cannot go down or up the stairs.
Try climbing four floors...
when you're 82.
We both have locked-in syndrome.
You are locked inside your body, and I inside my apartment.
Jean-Dominique, remember...
that in the upper-right hand drawer of my desk there is a letter.
In it is my Will.
It's, Jean-Do...
......a file marked 'Miscellaneous'.
I have to hang up...
Don't cry. - It isn't easy to speak.
You're my son, damn it.
It occurs to me, Jean-Do.
I almost forgot. You have your birthday soon.
I'll call again.
Happy Birthday.
It's not easy to speak to a son...
when you know he won't reply.
Noirtier de Villefort
I thought that a trip might please you.
I have another surprise. Close your eyes.
Close them. Close them.
Now. Open them.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
You shouldn't have.
In two volumes.
It's not a first edition, but it's pretty old.
Shall I read a bit?
Which chapter?
We use Roman numerals.
I have to think.
What would it be in Roman numerals?
It becomes L... I...X
I'll do it faster next time.
50? Higher? - Yes. Higher.
Nine? 59? Okay.
Here we go then.
There is the illustration. The coincidence frightens me.
' They took their places near him...'
' Noirtier de Villefort in his wheelchair... '
' from the early morning until late at night. '
' With a mirror Noirtier could see the entire apartment. '
' Thus he did not have to move himself. Indeed, it was impossible. '
' Sight and hearing were the only senses... '
' still working in his dying frame. '
' ...already 3/4 ready for the grave.'
Don't you think that it sounds like me?
No. - Oh, yes.
I make people shudder, too.
That's not true.
I should never have considered rewriting Dumas.
Don't tamper with a masterpiece. It's a lesson.
I didn't know Noirtier was the man...
I was to become.
My diving bell has dragged you down to the bottom of the sea with me.
Jean-Do, if sometimes I am...
at the bottom of the sea with you,..
you are also my butterfly.
That's a love declaration.
When we finish this book ...
...we will write another one about sports.
Then, maybe, I will start to run myself.
' I have missed you at the festival.
However, I hope to see you there next year, Jean-Paul. '
Le Tango, Nîmes.
' Dear Mr. Bauby, Concerning your order of a custom-made camper.
We can deliver it to you 6 to 8 months after your order.
Yours sincerely, Henri Raynaud. That is good news.
This is from your father.
' This is a gift. '
Look, a photograph of you when you were young.
Jean-Do, eight years old, Berck sur Mer.
From Anne-Marie.
The room of Jean-Dominique Bauby.
' With whom am I speaking? '
Céline Desmoulins. And you are?
' This is Inès. I want to speak with Jean-Do. '
One moment.
The speaker is on, so he can hear you.
I can't speak with you there.
You have no choice. There is no one else.
' Isn't the therapist there. ' - Not today.
' Darling.... '
' I said I'd come to see you, but...
when I got to the station, I turned around. '
' I just can't face it. '
' Please, please forgive me. '
' Céline? ' - Yes.
' Can you leave the room to get a snack? '
' I have some personal things to say. '
' I'm sorry. ' - I cannot.
There's no one else. Wait, he wants to say something.
One?
One minute?
I'm leaving the room. But not for long.
' Are you there? '
' Darling,...'
' I love you more than ever. '
' I want to see you, but not as you are now. '
' I only want to think of you as you were. '
' You will heal? Huh?'
' I miss you. '
' I miss you, I feel alone without you. It's unbearable. '
' I know you can understand. '
' You're always in my thoughts. '
' I know your family is there with you. '
' Do you want me to come? '
I'm back. - ' Do you want me to come? '
' Do you want me to come? ' - I'm here, Inès.
Every day...
Every day I wait for you.
' Will you please repeat. I didn't understand. '
' I didn't hear you. '
He said, 'Every day he waits for you.'
Excuse me, but if I don't get a seat on this plane...
I'll miss my connection to Hong-Kong.
Please, take my seat. - Thanks.
I'll take the next flight.
Bon Voyage.
Oh, shit. You're not going to Hong-Kong...
You're going to Beirut.
Are you okay? It will be okay.
Don't worry.
Generally, I forget my dreams, and people....
who tell their dreams annoy everyone.
But this one kept recurring. I don't know why.
It frightened me.
The feeling of doom doesn't leave me.
It took what I can only describe as a miracle ....
to lift my spirits.
It's dangerous to believe in personal miracles.
They tend to make one feel self-important.
Nevertheless, I must report that I believe something...
miraculous did occur.
I began to sing.
I grunt. I sing.
My hearing isn't so great, but...
sometimes, I think I hear my heart beating.
But I believe it's the sound...
of butterfly wings.
I'm making firm progress and I may...
have developed butterfly hearing.
I look forward to the future. Soon the summer will end...
and I will begin my first autumn in this hospital.
My life is here.
A constant repetition.
In this place.
How are you?
He speaks.
He's speaking. - He sings, too.
Go ahead, sing for Laurent.
Please, do it for me.
The kangaroo has leaped over the wall...
Over the the wall of the zoo....
He jumped so high...
Oh my, he was so beautiful.
Are you okay?
Did he finish? - No more singing now.
I have pneumonia.
Just when I had hope.
Like a sailor who watches land gradually sink away...
I see my past fading.
More and more of it is reduced to ashes.
What a come-back.
My office. I know that couple,...
but I don't recall their names.
This is my car?
My new car.
Where's the horn?
Bend down so I can hug you. - Do you see my car?
Splendid.
Everything okay, Théo? - Yes.
Have you had a good week?
Can we go to the theatre? - The theatre? Yes we will go.
Can we eat oysters? - You like oysters now?
Don't bring him back too late.
Here we go.
Can I get in the front? - You bet. There's no other seat.
We'll have our time soon.
How do you like it?
Everything okay with the team? - Yeh, the players are okay.
Do you have a shower afterwards?
We take a shower and change clothes.
Do you have your pubic hair? - No, not yet.
When I was young, one of the boys didn't want to undress to shower.
The manager wouldn't let him play.
So his father wanted to fight with the manager.
But he didn't do it. The mother calmed him down.
Finally nobody did a thing, but the boy quit the team.
Do you have that problem?
No, you can't shower with clothes on...
You tell me if you do. - Oh,no.
Do you have any news? Your Mom is okay?
She's okay.
You see that? - The road to Aunt Diane's.
Are you feeling hot? No?
No. I don't feel hot.
We could have...
It's about to rain. Wait. I'll stop. I'll stop.
Papa, what's wrong with you, Papa?
Run to the house. Call your Mom.
' My last thought was...
we have to cancel going to the theatre..
We'd be late in any case. - We'll go tomorrow night.
Then I sank into a coma. '
Does this make a book?
For Théophile, Céleste and Hortense.
I wish for them many butterflies.'
All my thanks to Claude Mendibil.
Without her understanding...
this book could not have been written.
I've always been there.
You know it?
These are great reviews. Shall I read them?
' The man who dictates in silence, Without movement or speech,...
Bauby learned to communicate...
with an eyelid to write this book.
An emotional trip in the world of loneliness...
which haunts the hospital of Berck. '
By Bernard Chapuis.
A very emotional book.
' Bauby, 43 years old, renowned journalist,...
dedicated father, free man...
aspired to write a book about the revenge of women...
' The Countess of Monte Cristo. '
Two days after the publication of...
'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'...
in 1996, Jean-Dominique Bauby died.