More and more it's looking like "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" may be this year's "Life Is Beautiful" or "Il Postino," that little, artsy foreign-language film that academy members embrace to prove that Oscar gold doesn't always reward movies that earn the most box-office gold. "Diving Bell" has valuable assets: its helmer is famous painter-turned-filmmaker Julian Schnabel who won the director's palm at Cannes last May for "Diving Bell" and it's got Steven Spielberg's team behind it — producer Kathleen Kennedy and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. At Cannes, Kaminski claimed the technical grand prize for his creative lens work.

"Diving Bell" just won best foreign film from the National Board of Review and will probably be nominated in the foreign-language race at the Golden Globes and might pop up in other races, including best director. At the Oscars, however, it will only compete outside the foreign-film category since it was not submitted as France's official entry, being chiefly an American production. Its lead actor, Mathieu Amalric, is a rising star in French cinema. Last year he won two Cesar Awards — France's equivalent to the Oscar — as best actor and most promising actor in "Kings and Queen." Below is our chat with him.