Analysis of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

After watching The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I already had a first impression of the movie. Overall, I thought it was a beautifully sad and moving life. The second time I watched this I realized that the movie had many more dimensions that just the characters’ interaction and development. For one, the opening scene has a very blurry frame and it is set at a very low point of view. From this low position, I am expected to feel like I am actually the character, Jean-Do, who is in a hospital bed. The camera movement, most likely on a handheld, is accurate in the sense that it attempts to portray what a paralyzed person feels. No movement of the “neck” (handheld, again) allows the attention to be on the focus and depth of field. In this opening scene, not only is the camera position low, but also the depth of field is very limited. At most, a hospital room is 10 feet from the bed to the end of the room. Ten feet does not provide a very spacious feeling, rather, it feels claustrophobic and constraining. Also, Jean-Do’s “eyes” attempt to take in as much information as possible, so they range from a very deep focus to a very blurry shot. This iris shot directly relates to how Jean-Do experiences his new perspective. At one point, we see the stubble on a doctor’s face and we can almost see ear hair. If anybody has ever had to get their eyes checked and they get the eye drops, this is what the camera does. It goes from very blurry, almost as if there is a water-like film over the vision, to a very crisp deep focus. The position of the camera, paired with the deep/lack of focus and limited depth of field conveys the constraining feeling one feels in a hospital bed. From Jean-Do’s position of the hospital bed, it also has very skewed angles, also known as canted frame. It is obvious that the camera is a handheld and not set on a tripod well until the second or third scene. This could symbolize how Jean-Do is unconscious and unstable (handheld) to when he begins to recognize and consciously understand his surroundings (tripod). Overall, the beginning shot to me was one of the most important because it easily set me into his position. I could already relate to Jean-Do because I have experienced the constricting hospital room setting. Being put into Jean-Do’s head was a brilliant and effective idea for me to easily share and associate myself with the main character. Je suis dans la tête du Jean-Do!