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The Sea Inside

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The Sea Inside (2004)

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Reviews Counted:126

Fresh:105

Rotten:21

Average Rating:7.5/10

Consensus: Critics are hailing Alejandro Amenabar’s portrait of a man who chooses to die as Oscar-worthy, powerful and life-affirming, in its way. However, some have called it melodramatic and manipulative.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense depiction of mature thematic material.

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 17, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $1,870,746

Synopsis: Javier Bardem gives a remarkable, unforgettable performance in Alejandro Amenabar's gripping drama about dying with dignity, THE SEA INSIDE. Thirty-five-year-old Bardem plays 55-year-old Ramon... Javier Bardem gives a remarkable, unforgettable performance in Alejandro Amenabar's gripping drama about dying with dignity, THE SEA INSIDE. Thirty-five-year-old Bardem plays 55-year-old Ramon Sampedro, a Galician who broke his neck as a young man and has spent more than a quarter of a century as a quadriplegic, confined to bed. Reflecting on his past and considering his future, he chooses to die, petitioning the courts for permission to be euthanized. His radical decision sets off controversy throughout Spain--as well as in his own house, where his family and friends all have different opinions on the fate he has chosen. While Ramon's father (Alberto Gimenez) and brother (Celso Bugallo) refuse to help him die, and his nephew, Javi (Tamar Novas), tries to understand his uncle's decision, Ramon is surrounded by women who virtually fight over him--Rosa (Lola Duenas), a single mother of two who visits him to talk about her difficult life; Manuela (Mabel Rivera), his sister-in-law who takes care of his daily needs; Gene (Clara Segura), who works for the Death with Dignity organization; and Julia (Belen Rueda, in a powerful film debut), a married lawyer with a secret of her own. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Venice Film Festival, THE SEA INSIDE is a special film with marvelous acting, a strong soundtrack, a moving story, and an enchanting visual style that features poetic shots of the countryside as Ramon dreams he can fly. [More]

Starring: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera

Starring: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera, Celso Bugallo, Clara Segura, Tamar Novas, Francesco Garrido, Joan Dalmau, Jose Maria Pou

Director: Alejandro Amenábar

Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Screenwriter: Mateo Gil, Alejandro Amenábar
Producer: Fernando Bovaira, Alejandro Amenábar
Composer: Alejandro Amenábar
Studio: Fine Line Features

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Release:

May 17, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Academy Award nominee Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) delivers a powerful and sensitive portrayal of a quadriplegic who fights to win the right to end his life with dignity. Based on a true story.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for The Sea Inside

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    1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
    Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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    This film balances moments of dreamy spirituality with the salty harshness of family disputes.

    Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
    12/20/04
    Kevin Allison
    Kevin Allison
    Premiere Magazine

    The result isn't an easy film, but it is rewarding.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    12/17/04
    Ethan Alter
    Ethan Alter
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    Bardem, who continues to make a good case that he is among a handful of the best screen actors alive, is totally transformed.

    Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
    12/16/04
    John Anderson
    John Anderson
    Newsday
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's very simple and streamlined, and all that's left is Bardem's bid for Oscar glory.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    01/05/05
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    a vanity project that, from top to bottom, proves unequal to the task of unlocking the existential truths at the heart of Ramón Sampedro’s story

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    12/14/04
    Jay Antani
    Jay Antani
    Filmcritic.com

    Bardem is not only immensely powerful in the role, he goes against our expectations at almost every turn, and subtly, skillfully generates much more than the usual sympathy and interest we automatically give a massively afflicted character.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
    02/03/05
    William Arnold
    William Arnold
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    Alejandro Amenabar offers one of the most powerful and memorable films of the year.

    Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
    02/14/05
    Angela Baldassarre
    Angela Baldassarre
    Sympatico.ca

    Built around Bardem's immobile presence, the film can't help but seem stolidly monumental even as it explores issues that are heart-wrenchingly personal.

    Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
    03/04/05
    John Beifuss
    John Beifuss
    Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

    A film both poetic and profound.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    11/13/04
    Ray Bennett
    Ray Bennett
    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Amenábar maintains a low-key approach that preserves the film's emotional integrity while still making a powerful statement.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    12/13/04
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Based on a true story, the movie has abundant humor and uplift -- but it's a heartbreaker of extraordinary dimension.

    Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
    12/17/04
    Jami Bernard
    Jami Bernard
    New York Daily News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Sea Inside is an inspiring, positively mesmerizing film. Javier Bardem, radiates within his character providing one of film's most powerful performances to date.

    Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
    12/08/04
    Emily Blunt
    Emily Blunt
    Blunt Review

    A magical film about many forms of love and about the energy of life.

    Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
    01/21/05
    Liz Braun
    Liz Braun
    Jam! Movies

    The subject of euthanasia is not likely to be better addressed or more cinematically presented. It's enough to make you feel guilty about the film's entertainment values.

    Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
    10/20/04
    Jules Brenner
    Jules Brenner
    Cinema Signals

    Respectable but undistinguished, and it places a distant second to 2004's other award winner about euthanasia (don't ask, won't tell).

    Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
    03/18/05
    Matt Brunson
    Matt Brunson
    Creative Loafing

    The Sea Inside is one of the best films of the year with a bravura performance by Javier Bardem that is both tender and poignant.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    12/10/04
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice

    Un viaje doloroso, claro, pero cargado de esperanza y optimismo. (...)Amenábar (...) ha hecho una película sobre el deseo de morir que, en realidad, está llena de vida.

    Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
    03/03/05
    Enrique Buchichio
    Enrique Buchichio
    Uruguay Total

    The only sad thing in this alleged tearjerker is watching singular talents like Bardem and Amenábar sucking up to the middlebrow Motorcycle Diaries crowd.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
    12/14/04
    Sean Burns
    Sean Burns
    Philadelphia Weekly

    The Sea Inside is a heartbreaking triumph. And Alejandro Amenabar is poised to become one of cinema's great talents.

    Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
    02/18/05
    Robert W. Butler
    Robert W. Butler
    Kansas City Star

    Amenábar's lyricism and Bardem's keen projection of dignified commitment enable The Sea Inside movingly to evoke humanity affronted...

    Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
    12/17/04
    Peter Canavese
    Peter Canavese
    Groucho Reviews
     
     
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