20 Best Looking Movies Since 2000
9. The Diving Bell And The Butterfly
Janusz Kamiński made his name as a cinematographer working with Steven Spielberg in the 1990s, shooting visual masterpieces like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan and simultaneously setting himself apart from the competition as someone capable of wildly divergent styles.
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly saw Kamiński team up with artist Julian Schnabel to tell the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of Elle magazine who suffered a sudden stroke and was left with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. The film is viewed almost exclusively from Bauby's perspective, allowing Kaminski free reign to develop all manner of focus pulling techniques and lensing effects which sits the audience directly inside Bauby's horrific experience.
Flights of fantasy alleviate the claustrophobic sensation crafted by the visual emphasis on Bauby's paralysed condition - these visual flights of fancy elevating The Diving Bell And The Butterfly towards poetic heights.