The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

Narrative

1. How does the narrative of the film and its structure reflect the key themes and messages of the story?

Throughout the film there are 2 elements to the same narrative, one being his reality, and the other being his imagination. In his reality the narrative truly reflects his life as being repetitive and mundane, as nothing really causes a change in emotion. In the other reality his imaginations are lucid as if they were reality, this causes a stir in emotion as we see him moving, driving, kissing woman, and in a quiet quirky scene when he is looking at his own reflection in the glass in his wheelchair, a pretty woman tells him to "get up nothings wrong with you" and he just gets up out of his chair as if nothing happens, again this reflects his life showing that much more is going on in his imagination as apposed to his reality. The scene where Jean-Do is in a diving bell suit screaming and no one can here him reflects his reality, and the other part of the film title "The butterfly" shows how his brain is working and all over the place like a butterfly, so to translate the title of the film, it means he is completely restricted to any physical emotion, but still has access to all of his metal emotion, but no one can see his mental emotion.

Mise-en-Scene

1. How does mise-en-scene create meaning throughout the film?

-What devices are used to communicate the frustration of paralysis?
The diving bell suit is a device used to show how Jean-Do is submerged in full body paralysis with only slight movement in his eye, this contrasts so much to how his minds imagination wonders like a butterfly, both of these visual elements are devices to show the frustration of paralysis.

-Compare the mise-en-scene in the father's day scene compared to when Jean-Do's children visit him. How do the representations and roles within these scenes switch and alternate?
The use of acting in the fathers day seen shows how the role of Jean-Do is to look after his father who has struggle moving so he shaves him as he con no longer do it for himself, later we see how Jean-Do's role switches to when his children visit him and he takes on the role of his father, he is immobilised and unable of taking care of himself, so his children wipe his mouth, and in general help cater his needs which he cannot fulfil himself. This use of mise-en-scene shows the contrasts how in the first fathers day scene he is scurrying around after his father and full of movement, but then in the end fathers day scene he is completely immobilised and his children are full of movement, wearing clothes which blow like a flag in the wind.

-What are the significance of the iceberg images throughout?
In the closing scene the use of reverse motion icebergs breaking shows how at the end of his life he was able to put everything he could put back together in his mind was successful.

Performance

1. How does Mathieu Amalric bring emotion to the role of Jean-Do despite spending mose of the film in static position.

Mathieu Amalric brings emotion through the role of Jean-Do, despite the fact he is completely static he can move his eye and blink, for example in the scene when Henriette has to sit and listen to his wife tell him how much she loves him and he replies in the same way, Henriette is crying and yuu can see his eyes are shakes and welled up as he is upset

1. How do the female actors bring "humanity" to their performances in the way they interact with Jean-Do? (Henriette and "Claude")

Henriette and Claude treat Jean-Do as if he is fully able and this brings humanity as it makes him feel more free than he is and it makes him happy to be alive rather than just existing.