In 1995, at the apex of his personal and professional life, Elle Magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby was struck down by a stroke. He spent 20 days in a coma, and when he awoke, he was trapped inside his own paralyzed body ? later referred to as the Diving Bell. Able to comprehend and intellectualize, Bauby was unable to move, his left eye excepted. To deal with his silent existence hovering between life and death, Bauby created a dense inner world that provided the escape he needed: the Butterfly. Based on Bauby’s book ? written letter by letter with the aid of his communication device ? Schnabel, writer Ron Harwood, and photographer Janusz Kaminski create an inner world that is wry, angry, and surreal. Shot in the first person, the film is tour de force of subjectivity that viewers are unlikely to be moved by.