Julian Schnabel
Age:
56
Film:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Synopsis:
Jean-Dominique Bauby AKA 'Jean-Do', the high-flying editor of French Elle and father of two, was renowned for his sense of humour and style, his joie de vivre and amorous energy, when, in an instant, his world was plunged into the depths of catastrophe.At the age of forty three he suffered a massive stroke that paralysed he entire body, except his left eye.Faced with a harrowing predicament, Jean-Do will use enormous courage and determination but, most of all, his soaring imagination to escape from his trap.
Tapping into the limitlessness of his memories, fantasies, wit and wishes, he finds a way to race through experiences of wonder and grief, sex and love, fatherhood and childhood, faith and questioning, ecstasy and absurdity--and touches the very essence of what it is to be human.
Along the way he is buoyed by a quintet of remarkable women: Céline, the mother of his children who remains devoted to him despite his betrayal; Inés, the girlfriend who still haunts him; Henriette and Marie, who give Jean-Do the power to re-connect with the world and his loved ones; and Claude, who becomes his ravishing literary assistant.
Previous Oscar Wins:
None
Previous Oscar Nominations:
None
Awards?Nomiantions for Film:
Julian Schnabel won Best Director for his work at the Golden Globes as well as winning at the Cannes Film Festival and the Boston Society of Film Critics.
Critics:
'Schnabel's movie is a gloriously unlocked experience, with some of the freest and most creative uses of the camera.' (The New Yorker)
'Director Julian Schnabel and screenwriter Ronald Harwood have performed a small miracle in adapting for the screen Jean-Dominique Bauby's autobiography The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.' (The Hollywood Reporter)
'An astonishing, deeply moving film, Schnabel's third film is also his masterpiece, thanks to extraordinary direction, stunning camerawork, a terrific script and an Oscar-worthy central performance from Amalric.' (View London)
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Other Best Director Nominees