You still haven't said how the film-maker should have handled the fact the women in his life were beautiful.

Posted by sjb (A) on February 26, 2008 at 15:03:33

In Reply to: Deaf Beethoven: interesting. Almost blind Rembrandt: fascinating. posted by tinear on February 26, 2008 at 10:17:16:

How much less beautiful should he have made them... I mean I know it's very fine line because if they'd crossed the line (your line) into "ugly" then half the post would've been about that.

For the record... there were things about the film that bothered me... like the trip to Lourdes. What was the point of it? They didn't demonstrate in any way that it had some effect on his life... were we just supposed to see that he thought his girlfriend was nutty? If so, why... where did that thought or realization lead? As a stand alone anecdote it just felt kind of vague and empty... maybe that's it! Maybe it was a metaphor for how he felt.

I also wasn't crazy about JS' artistic interpretations of Bauby's inner/imaginative world. That imagery didn't really resonate for me. I thought the film was much stronger when sticking with his POV and occasional views of other people (like his father... say, what did you think of MVS' performance?).

But overall it was moving just because as a human being, seeing someone overcome such an incredibly - unimaginably emotional and psychologically debilitating - condition to find a way to communicate and express, beautifully, what's it's like to be there and a growing awareness of the beauty he had in his life, was moving. That it was done so well, both by the film-makers and actors only made it more so.

Did you not notice that the impetus for him to express himself thusly came from realizing how much love and beauty he had in his life and how he'd taken it for granted/and or had been willing to throw it away? That he was overwhelmed by the fact that after all that and in his 'un-wantable' condition he was still loved and surrounded with beauty? I'm guessing you probably see that as weakness on the part of the people in his life who loved him... to me it speaks to a basic decency he must have had despite his caddish behaviour.

Oh... and one more thing. About the beautiful women... even if they were a bit of an exaggeration we were seeing them through Bauby's eyes/mind... he was a sensual, confident womanizer (to a point) and it was part of his prison to have the experience of desiring them, and wanting contact and intimacy with them but being trapped in a body that couldn't communicate any of that... it also part of his experience that as beautiful women they were interested in him not because he was handsome and successful but because he was helpless.

Sometimes, when you quickly reject a movie out of hand based on social and/or political bias, you miss a lot (just ask JI).

"You can safely assume you have created God in your own image when he hates all the same people you do."

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly:" seldom has a film - tinear 15:45:12 02/25/08 (31)

speech therapist was the sexy assassin in Munich! nt - Duilawyer 16:57:27 02/26/08 (0)

Obviously, I disagree. - Harmonia 13:27:03 02/26/08 (1)

I'm with you. Best of 2007. nt - Duilawyer 16:55:33 02/26/08 (0)

"to what seems like hours of it" - dave c 19:56:34 02/25/08 (27)

Exactly. - Harmonia 13:03:35 02/26/08 (0)

One can convey boredom w/out boring the spectator. That - tinear 05:21:54 02/26/08 (25)

RE: One can convey boredom w/out boring the spectator. That - jamesgarvin 15:37:40 02/26/08 (0)

sorry he didn't change story to fit your expectations... - dave c 13:36:21 02/26/08 (2)

No, no: - tinear 16:38:01 02/26/08 (1)

"I like criticizing a film as much as praising one." THAT, is obvious. - sjb 17:20:25 02/26/08 (0)

LOL! Women are either too ugly to bear or too pretty to take seriously. - sjb 06:18:57 02/26/08 (10)

Yes, and the secretary, his wife, the girlfriend, the therapists, etc. - tinear 06:52:24 02/26/08 (9)

Plenty has been posted about why people like it. - sjb 07:59:08 02/26/08 (8)

Deaf Beethoven: interesting. Almost blind Rembrandt: fascinating. - tinear 10:17:16 02/26/08 (7)

You still haven't said how the film-maker should have handled the fact the women in his life were beautiful. - sjb 15:03:33 02/26/08 (5)

First off, I'd read a lot about the film and expected - tinear 16:48:28 02/26/08 (4)

Fair enough. nt - sjb 16:56:01 02/26/08 (3)

RE: Fair enough. nt - tinear 17:13:53 02/26/08 (2)

LOL! - sjb 17:19:25 02/26/08 (1)

RE: LOL! - tinear 04:38:33 02/27/08 (0)

"a execrable rag": is this a freedom fries thing? nt - dave c 13:41:05 02/26/08 (0)

Millions of people have loved this film... - EBerlin 06:05:16 02/26/08 (9)

Millions love slasher movies. So? Care to trot out some - tinear 06:53:59 02/26/08 (0)

the sheep - Eldragon 06:41:38 02/26/08 (7)

I've not the slightest objection to his not liking the film... - EBerlin 07:29:27 02/26/08 (6)

But my dear E., I am certain I find it a miserable excuse for a film. Your - tinear 10:20:08 02/26/08 (5)

You are right.... - EBerlin 11:27:04 02/26/08 (4)

Then it's hardly, "miserable," is it? ;-) nt - tinear 13:16:45 02/26/08 (3)

Oh no, not at all... - EBerlin 13:19:39 02/26/08 (2)

oh stop it both of you - dave c 13:39:06 02/26/08 (1)

After Nader gets in I'm having him - tinear 17:18:04 02/26/08 (0)

Follow Ups

You still haven't said how the film-maker should have handled the fact the women in his life were beautiful. - sjb 15:03:33 02/26/08 (5)

First off, I'd read a lot about the film and expected - tinear 16:48:28 02/26/08 (4)

Fair enough. nt - sjb 16:56:01 02/26/08 (3)

RE: Fair enough. nt - tinear 17:13:53 02/26/08 (2)

LOL! - sjb 17:19:25 02/26/08 (1)

RE: LOL! - tinear 04:38:33 02/27/08 (0)

You still haven't said how the film-maker should have handled the fact the women in his life were beautiful.

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