The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Julian Shnabel's adaptation of Jean-Dominque Bauby's autobiography should be compulsory viewing for everyone interested in medicine. The film depicts the moving transition of Bauby (Mathieu Amalric) from high powered editor of French Elle magazine to his rehabilitation when he develops locked-in syndrome after a stroke at the age of 43.

The cinematography is masterly and forces the viewer to empathise with Bauby's condition. As the film unfolds we feel the emotions that Bauby feels, learning of the frustration, depression, determination, and helplessness that being a prisoner of the body instils. Schnabel makes us ponder what it …