Mar adentro

Many more eloquent reviews than this have described the quite spectacular acting, casting and styling of this film. It appears that the only negative reviews focus on a perceived imbalance in the film's handling of the core moral question (euthanasia).

This film is, bar the final scenes, meticulous in stressing Ramon's belief that he's not making some grand point but merely that, for him, a life devoid of dignity is a life not worth living. We, as viewers, see an enormous amount of dignity in his life - we see family and friends and culture and, but for its physical limitations, a life fully lived. Central to the tragedy of this film is that there is really only one person who thinks that Ramon's life is not worth living - and that is him.

To watch this film and say that the only counter argument comes from the visit of a bumbling priest is a nonsense. The priest's visit is pure farce, a direct assault on the simplicity of the Spanish Catholic Church's response to the issue of euthanasia. However, the sister's parting words to the priest momentarily expose the powerful 'pro-life' sentiments quietly underpinning the entire film. We are constantly encouraged to see the hope and the beauty of a life lived with love. As the film progresses, we may gradually be encouraged to understand Ramon's reasoning but we are never reconciled to his decision.

I do not remember a film which moved me and provoked me as much as this.

I've been a fan of Javier Bardem ever since No Country For Old Men came out back in 2007. His presence on screen was something extraordinary and i could tell the guy knew how to act. Sea Inside is definitely a film were his talent shines. The character he plays as is a paraplegic. After an unfortunate accident, he's left paralyzed from the neck down. After so many years he decides that he's had enough and wants to attempt suicide. As he tries to find the right person to help him, we get to meet so many great characters played by many great actors/actresses. From his family to his friends, you get this emotional bond between everyone and it really makes for a real powerhouse. You will believe Bardem is paralyzed, it's so effective. He makes it seem so realistic from beginning to end. This film has a very deep and dark meaning that anyone could feel for. It'll make you cry, it'll make you laugh and it will leave you in silence. If your a fan of Javier Bardem, or your a fan of a good and solid piece of art, do your self a favor and see this movie.

Alejandro Amenabar, the young and talented Spanish director, clearly shows us he is a serious film maker. Anyone doubting it, should have a look at his latest film "The Sea Inside". This is a movie that has been rewarded with numerous accolades, not only in Spain, but throughout the world, wherever this wonderful movie has been shown.

If you have not seen the film, perhaps you would like to stop here.

Ramon Sampedro is a man confined to bed. Being quadriplegic, he depends on the kindness of strangers for everything. Since his accident, Ramon only thinks in one thing alone: how to end his life! This is the moral issue at the center of the story, based on the real Ramon Sampedro's life.

Mr. Amenabar tells the story from Ramon's point of view. There is nothing here that is false or manipulative on his part. After all, he relies on facts that were well known in his country as this case became a "cause celebre" in favor of euthanasia, a theme that no one in that country wanted to deal with in Spain.

With its background of being a predominantly Roman Catholic country, Spain has evolved into one of the most democratic societies in Europe, a distinction that is more notable because of its long years dominated by a dictator. Yet, in spite of the advances in that society, the idea of taking one's own life, is something not clearly understood by the majority of its citizens, who still considered this subject as something that could not be done in their country.

Ramon Sampedro was a man that loved life. He lived an intense life as a young man when he enlisted as a sailor to discover the world. Having no money, this was the only way for him to see other lands, experience other cultures. Ramon's love affair with the sea, is something that people in Galicia learn to love from their childhood. Imagine how that same friendly sea is the one that takes away Ramon's life, as he knew it! In a second, Ramon goes from a vibrant young man into a vegetable!

Ramon's family is shattered by the experience. Suddenly they must leave everything aside to take care of him at home. His brother and sister-in-law, are stoic people that deal with the situation as a matter of fact. Their lives become something of an afterthought, because Ramon's life comes first. They tend to the sick man without protesting, or blaming Ramon for the sacrifices they must make to keep him alive.

That is why, in their minds, the Sampedros can't comprehend Ramon's wishes to end it all. Haven't they given up having a normal life to take care of him? This moral issue weighs heavily on these uncomplicated and simple people because in their minds, they are doing what came naturally.

The second subject of the movie is the legal issue of the euthanasia and the well meaning people that suddenly enter Ramon's life in their desire to help him put an end to his suffering. There's Julia, the lawyer who is herself handicapped and suffers from a rare malady. There is Rosa, the fish cannery worker who becomes infatuated with Ramon.

Javier Bardem, makes a brilliant Ramon Sampedro. His transformation is total. We don't doubt from one moment he is no one else but the paralyzed man on that bed. Mr. Bardem can only use his face in order to convey all the emotions trapped inside Ramon. Mr. Bardem makes this man real. This is perhaps Javier Bardem's best role of his career. He surpasses his own award winning performance as Reynaldo Arenas, the late Cuban poet he portrayed in "Before Night Falls".

In the supporting roles, Belen Rueda, makes an impressive appearance as Julia, the woman fighting her own physical problems. Lola Duenas is also effective as Rosa, the kindred soul that loves Ramon deeply. Celso Bugallo, as Ramon's brother shows a man at a crossroads of his own life. Mabel Rivera makes a compassionate Manuela, the sister-in-law that never asks anything of life, but tends to Ramon without questioning why she has to do it, at all.

Mr. Amenabar also has composed the haunting music score for the film. He is a man that never cease to surprise. One wonders what his next project will be, but one wishes him success in whatever he might decide to do in the future.

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Alejandro Amenabar creates life against all odds in this based on a true story version of one man's struggle to control his destiny. The great Javier Bardem is fascinating to watch in his role as Ramon. His eyes and head movements leave little doubt what is going on in his mind. The dream and fantasy sequences are not overused so prove very effective in explaining why he wants what he wants. Rather than force us to answer the euthanasia question, the real question posed is , What is Love? At every turn we see people in love, looking for love or dying to be loved. The script is tight and keeps the film moving despite being filmed mostly in one room. The supporting cast is wonderful and we truly feel their pain and how each family member deals with Ramon's decision. This is a gem and deserves to be seen.

You can't move. At least nothing below the neck moves. You can't turn around. You can't eat or drink unaided, or do, choose, or effectively decide, very much for that matter.

Once you had a full life, travelling the world as a ship hand, living and loving to the full. Inside, your spirit still soars, racing along the beach, catching the spray of the waves, smelling the hair of a woman in your arms. But now your spirit has been disenfranchised, stranded behind the veil of your dreams. You have become a distant observer of your own life, powerless to get involved, a ghost at the wheel.

This is the evocative story based on the real life Ramon Sanpedro who became a quadriplegic after a diving accident, and it is the film's brilliant interiorisation of his world, making the audience feel and see things as if they were the highly articulate Ramon, that gives it the gut-wrenching force to scale the heights of emotional grandeur - rather than wallowing in the grim mire of a sentimental 'message' movie.

Early on, the audience is tantalisingly entrusted with the attraction that this unusual man convincingly conveys. Manuela, his sister in law, is devoted to him. Rosa, a struggling local DJ and factory worker, is enamoured of him. But it is Julia, a beautiful lawyer representing him that most understands and empathises with him, partly as she has a dark secret of her own. The right to die campaign worker, Gene, is inexhaustibly supportive, and one of the most well balanced characters morally. But with who, if any, will romantic flights of fancy become physical? And who, if any, will help him achieve his wish to say goodbye to the world if and when the courts fail him in his quest?

The Sea Inside is a quiet revelation that packs emotional honesty, a memorable script (using excerpts from Sanpedro's poetry) and superb acting from Javier Bardem. It tackles a difficult subject more thoroughly and engagingly than has ever been done before and kept me wide awake with eyes glued to the screen even after an exhausting day. Its weakest point is that those of a different viewpoint are handled without the gravitas afforded Sanpedro's own wish to end his life. The visiting priest is an object of ridicule and humour and, while this provides some excellent light relief, it smacks of an absence of intellectual rigour in an otherwise very thorough examination of the issues. But this is only a small criticism in what is otherwise a monumental and highly recommendable film.

Chris Docker