Diving Bell

Reaction to "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

             As I began Watching “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” I tried to keep in mind the point of our course when interpreting my view of the film. With that in mind I also felt it necessary to include my initial gut reaction to what it is I saw on the screen. To begin, the most obvious direction the director took was to tell the majority of the film from a first person perspective. This brings us into Jean’s  world. It allows us to identify with his current situation, which that of a quadriplegic. The opening scene is seen through his eyes and we carry his sense of confusion about where he is and how he came to get there. If the shot was in third person, for instance an establishing shot of the hospital room, the complete view of the setting alone tells us so much. The first person serves as a more powerful way of showing our main characters (Jean-Dominique Bauby) plight and allowing the audience to feel how closed off he is from the world.

                We hear Jean’s inner thoughts through voiceovers that allow us to inside his current state of emotions. Rather than rely on just voiceovers, the movie jumps to flashbacks of Jean life. He lived a life of glamour full of adoration (or ass kissing, your call), famous friends, and glamour. These flashbacks give us a severe contrast to the Jeans life then and now. It isn’t all shallow memories as we all cut to moments of his ex-wife and past loves. He is a man trapped in his own body. His situation allows him time to reflect on a past full of both joy and regret.

                The movie had great camera work, sad moments and funny ones alike.  what comes to mind are his inner flirtations with two female doctors, flashbacks, and images of nature representing his mind turned up on high. It was surprisingly good, not a film that would have showed up on my radar, but I was glad to have seen it none the less.