This film balances moments of dreamy spirituality with the salty harshness of family disputes.
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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Reviews for The Sea Inside
Bardem, who continues to make a good case that he is among a handful of the best screen actors alive, is totally transformed.
It's very simple and streamlined, and all that's left is Bardem's bid for Oscar glory.
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
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.
Alejandro Amenabar offers one of the most powerful and memorable films of the year.
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.
Amenábar maintains a low-key approach that preserves the film's emotional integrity while still making a powerful statement.
Based on a true story, the movie has abundant humor and uplift -- but it's a heartbreaker of extraordinary dimension.
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.
A magical film about many forms of love and about the energy of life.
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.
Respectable but undistinguished, and it places a distant second to 2004's other award winner about euthanasia (don't ask, won't tell).
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.
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.
The only sad thing in this alleged tearjerker is watching singular talents like Bardem and Amenábar sucking up to the middlebrow Motorcycle Diaries crowd.
The Sea Inside is a heartbreaking triumph. And Alejandro Amenabar is poised to become one of cinema's great talents.
Amenábar's lyricism and Bardem's keen projection of dignified commitment enable The Sea Inside movingly to evoke humanity affronted...
Latest News for The Sea Inside
July 11, 2006:
Natalie Portman Will Do Naked in Next Film
This one's for all you Portman pervs out there -- the erstwhile Queen Amidala is set to go fully nude in her upcoming pic "Goya's Ghosts," in which she plays the... More...
February 17, 2006:
Newell & Bardem Come Down with "Cholera"
International acting stud Javier Bardem and well-rounded movie director Mike Newell are about to bring the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Love in the Time of Cholera" to the... More...
December 16, 2005:
London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are announced. Keep in mind that the Brit crits use their... More...
April 20, 2005:
Bardem & Portman to Discover "Goya's Ghosts"
Javier Bardem ("Before Night Falls") and Natalie Portman ("Closer") are in final talks to star in the bio-pic "Goya's Ghosts," says Variety. The... More...
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