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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 rotten rating)
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    Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
    05/13/05
    Sydney Morning Herald
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
    03/13/05
    BBC
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    02/18/05
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/21/05
    Houston Chronicle
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
    09/26/05
    AV Club
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    02/09/06
    Time Out
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    03/02/05
    Boston Phoenix
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
    11/01/07
    David Ansen
    David Ansen
    Newsweek
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
    01/15/05
    Logan Hill
    Logan Hill
    New York Magazine
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    10/18/08
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile

    It has a striking deficit. It tends to generalize from too winning a single case.

    Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
    02/04/05
    David Elliott
    David Elliott
    San Diego Union-Tribune

    The Sea Inside is a four-hankie salute to the Oscar gods!

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    11/13/04
    Ed Gonzalez
    Ed Gonzalez
    Slant Magazine

    As beautiful, assured, and professional as it is, the film lacks edge and power, ending up being significantly less affecting than it should be.

    Full Review Source: Mixed Reviews | comment Comment
    11/20/04
    Gabriel Shanks
    Gabriel Shanks
    Mixed Reviews

    It comes as no surprise to learn that Javier Bardem, the virile and charismatic Spanish actor, is capable of turning on the charisma even working only from the neck up. What is alarming is realizing that the rest of the movie he's in is paralyzed as well.

    Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
    01/21/05
    Geoff Pevere
    Geoff Pevere
    Toronto Star
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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

    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

    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)

    Bardem, who somehow managed to win Venice's Best Actor trophy, does nothing but sit in a bed and ball up his little fists. Very disappointing.

    Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
    11/12/04
    Jon Popick
    Jon Popick
    Planet Sick-Boy

    You want to like Ramon and what’s more you want Ramon to like himself.

    Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
    12/20/04
    Joshua Tyler
    Joshua Tyler
    CinemaBlend.com

    Director Alejandro Amenábar sidesteps legal polemics, but oddly doesn't aim for unflinching realism either, only hinting at the messy regimens that would underscore Ramón's claims of his condition's indignity.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    12/14/04
    Laura Sinagra
    Laura Sinagra
    Village Voice
     
     
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    Latest News for The Sea Inside

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