--- title: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 8 reviews: 6 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. ## Empire — Alan Morrison Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2007. The film succeeds in translating Bauby's wry inner world to the screen through a bold POV style that immerses viewers in his restricted mobility and rich mental life. Schnabel's approach highlights how Bauby's imagination overcomes his physical limitations. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/diving-bell-butterfly-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 February 2008. Schnabel's very moving and deeply satisfying movie adapts the memoir of a fashion editor paralysed by a stroke who communicates only by blinking one eyelid. The critic singles out the emotional power of scenes involving the protagonist's elderly father, played by Max von Sydow, for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/08/worldcinema.drama) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. Schnabel's adaptation captures an extraordinary true story of resilience, showing Bauby as flawed yet heroic through flashbacks, fantasies, and his determined communication via blinking. Strong performances and elegant cinematography convey the indomitability of the human spirit despite some emotional concessions. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/redeemed-in-the-blink-of-an-eye-7403623.html) ## Time Out — Jessica Winter Rating 4/5. 4 February 2008. Julian Schnabel’s adaptation is a tender and sensuously sad film that immerses viewers in Bauby’s inner world through POV camerawork, flashbacks and expressionist flourishes. It avoids restraint in favour of voluptuous aesthetics while honouring the source memoir. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager Rating 2/4. 31 August 2007. The film is a textbook example of a director prizing himself over his material, with Schnabel's excessive stylistic gestures and over-the-top directorial flourishes lending superficiality. It dances around the human being at its center while lavishing attention on itself. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan 23 May 2007. Festival review. Schnabel's rich visual style and commitment make the difficult story of locked-in syndrome compelling and moving rather than static. The director took on the project for personal reasons and delivers fluid storytelling aided by strong cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-may-23-et-diving23-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert 20 December 2007. The film captures the heroic life force of a man with locked-in syndrome who dictates his memoir by blinking one eye. Schnabel filters everything through the protagonist's consciousness with vivid memories, fantasies, and the help of a great cinematographer to create a moving, non-inspirational portrait of resilience and human consciousness. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly-2007) ## Screen Daily 22 May 2007. Festival review. Julian Schnabel’s flawless adaptation of Jean-Dominique Bauby’s memoir is a deeply moving film that treads the line between heartbreaking and life-affirming. It creates empathy through strong performances and highlights the power of imagination amid paralysis. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/features/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly-le-scaphandre-et-le-papillon/4032804.article) ## The Hollywood Reporter 22 May 2007. Festival review. The adaptation performs a small miracle in doing justice to Bauby's courage and the patience of those around him. It boasts a fine lead performance by Mathieu Amalric and matches the broad appeal of similar films. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/diving-bell-butterfly-158396/) ## The New Yorker — David Denby 26 November 2007. Schnabel delivers a gloriously unlocked cinematic experience with creative camera work and emotional depth, expanding the concise book into a sensual, funny, and heartbreaking feast. The film celebrates the rebirth of cinema and the protagonist's soul through extravagant beauty and inner life. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/12/03/high-fliers-2) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott 30 November 2007. Schnabel turns the story of a paralyzed man's inner life into a celebration of experience and richness rather than morbidity. The film, true to its source, uses light, color, and performance to transform pity into joy through the hero's acute appreciation of the world. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/movies/30divi.html) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Rating 5/5. 30 January 2008. The critic calls it truly cutting-edge cinema that is daring and imaginative, quite unlike anything else that year. She singles out Schnabel's inspired direction for turning the story into a poetic voyage through memory and imagination. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## The Skinny — Laura Smith Rating ★★★★. 5 February 2008. Schnabel has created an astonishingly lyrical, rhapsodic and viscerally emotional portrait of a man liberated by his imagination from locked-in syndrome. The film is humane, funny and extremely moving, never indulgent or mawkish. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly) ## Paste — Amanda Petrusich Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2007. The critic finds the film underwhelming, criticizing Schnabel's focus on visual composition over narrative as self-indulgent and excessive. It praises the acting and the humbling story but concludes it feels like an overwrought art piece rather than a true homage to human tenacity. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/julian-schnabel/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-diving-bell-and-the-butterfly.md