From its gripping opening to its tear-inducing conclusion, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” tells an inspiring story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffers a stroke at 42 and is completely paralyzed, retaining movement in only his left eye.

Bauby learns to communicate using blinks and begins to write a memoir about his condition and his life before the stroke.

The movie also features flashbacks to his life before the stroke, but the flashbacks are usually relevant to the situation.

I say “gripping opening” because the first 40 minutes are showed in a first-person perspective as Bauby, with his inner monologue being spoken by actor Mathieu Amalric.

Amalric deserves awards if only because he isn’t seen in the first 40 minutes yet conveys so much emotion through his voice-over.

After about an hour, the movie adopts a more traditional perspective but never leaves Bauby out of the spotlight.

The film was nominated for Best Direction and it deserves the nomination.

The cinematography is so good that I occasionally forgot I was watching a movie (except the subtitles).

The director really shines in this movie, delivering an expertly-made, extremely polished film that runs a sleek and fast hour and fifty-one minutes, which flies by once the story begins to move.

The movie also has the benefit of a standout cast.

Amalric delivers a heartbreaking performance as Bauby.

Marie-José Croze is beautiful and charismatic as Bauby’s speech therapist who helps him communicate. Every one of Croze’s scenes are emotional and leave an impact on the audience.

The film also stars Emmanuelle Seigner as the mother of Bauby’s children. Her performance is fantastic and deeply touching as she helps Bauby live his life.

The film uses excellent imagery of a deep-sea diving suit to symbolize the imprisonment that Bauby feels, leaving the end effect chilling and unnerving.

As fantastic as this movie is, it is not a film for the faint at heart. I’ve watched two movies in the past week, one being “Saw 3D” and the other was this. One movie contained a scene that I had a really hard time stomaching, and it wasn’t “Saw.” I’m serious.

I felt the overall pace of the movie was really good, but I personally got distracted at some of the flashbacks, which sometimes made the movie stumble.

This is the last film in the French Film festival and it’s arguably the best. The story is deeply touching, but also strangely enjoyable. The story of the human spirit in this movie is moving and well-told.

More than anything, this movie is about hope. The movie tells an encouraging and inspiring story, even if it has to break your heart to get there.

The film feels similar to “Johnny Got His Gun” in that both main characters are trapped inside their broken bodies with normal brain functions, so if you liked that book I’d recommend this movie.

I’d recommend this movie to pretty much everyone though. It’s a very well-made movie that pulls at your heartstrings and leaves you near tears in the end.

This is a great opportunity to expand your cultural horizons; don’t let this chance pass you by.

Go see this movie, and if you like it, consider watching more movies that aren’t in English.