The film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is about Jean-Dominique Bauby, who after having a stroke ended up with a condition called locked in syndrome. Although this film was in french, and I wasn't able to view the film with subtitles, from what I viewed Julian Schnabel did a great job with all the cinematographic aspects. By the different camera angles, lighting, framing, and camera movement used I was able to view the film as though I was in Bauby's shoes.
Images
In the film there was the use of images that seemed to be flashbacks that Bauby had. In the beginning of the film there was images of a little boy, at first I had the impression it was Bauby but as the film went on I realized it was Bauby's son. There was also another image that kept coming up in the film which was a deep sea diver. From what I seen the deep sea diver was how Bauby depicted himself because of his condition. He was like a deep sea diver stuck underwater without the ability to help himself or being helped. With locked in syndrome an individual is conscious but is totally paralyzed with the exception of having the ability to move their eyes.
Shot Lengths
During the film I noticed the use of long shots which to me gave me a feel of what it was like to have locked in syndrome. For example the scenes where the nurses would communicate with him, that would be a long process having to repeat letters, wait for him to blink, until he spelled out a word. At times though those long shots would be interrupted by visions or the images of his family, the diver, or different memories.
Camera Angles
In the beginning of the film the two camera angles I noticed right away was low angle and oblique angle. With low angle shots the viewer is supposed to get the feel of something powerful or threatening, like whatever the character is viewing is something superior. In the film the medical staff had a lot to do with Bauby's care to him they were in a way powerful because he was in a helpless state. During those low angle shots you got to see close ups and extreme close ups of whoever was talking to Bauby, for example the medical staff and also visitors. It gave you more of a connection to the character, like if you were viewing the film through Bauby's eyes. An example of an extreme close up was when one of the Dr.'s had to sew his eye shut, you visualized the procedure as though it were your eye being sewn shut.With oblique shots it represents that something strange is going on. The strange incidents were Bauby getting used to his new condition and state of not being able to move, which was completely different from the life he lived before.
Composition
During what seemed to be the last half of the film there was parts of the film that were balanced and we got to view the film by third person. There was still much part of the film that used Bauby's point of view, which gave the viewer the ability to still be able to relate to Bauby. For example in the scene where Bauby is at the beach with his children.
Camera Movement
The camera movement of the film was shaky at times, which again showed that the story was being told through Bauby's eyes. In the beginning of the film the camera movement was shaky and blurry which showed that Bauby was coming out of a coma and was trying to focus on his surroundings.
Cinematography Style
The cinematography style of this film was intentional. Bauby viewed and communicated to the world with his left eye and that is how the viewer viewed most of the film. It made you sympathize with the character and feel what he was feeling as well because we had the ability to hear him speak when the outside world couldn't.
