The Sea Inside is a heartbreaking triumph. And Alejandro Amenabar is poised to become one of cinema's great talents.
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
For whatever reason, it's an injustice that Bardem was not nominated for best actor.
Mar Adentro, assim como a própria vida de Sampedro, funciona principalmente para nos forçar a uma análise interior que pode revelar-se impiedosa e surpreendente.
Bardem's Ramón is such a vital life force, it's all the more bittersweet to watch him fight to leave a world that would be much emptier and sadder without him in it.
With the performance of Bardem at its centre, the film succeeds in making Sampedro's story enriching and not half as depressing as the premise might lead one to suspect.
You can't watch the movie passively. Just try getting through it with a dry eye.
Alejandro Amenabar offers one of the most powerful and memorable films of the year.
Impressively made drama that is both moving and thought-provoking, thanks to a strong script and a powerful central performance by Javier Bardem.
Un film émouvant porteur d’un message important, celui du droit de disposer de sa vie comme on l’entend.
A brave and densely compelling film that tackles euthanasia better than Flint Sweatwood in Zillion Gallor Maybe. I promise no spoilers.
Director Alejandro Amenabar wisely presents the story simply, representing both opinions fairly.
Ultimately, this is one man's story, told with great empathy, and Amenábar deserves great credit for lifting the film above the soap-opera sentimentality into which it could have easily fallen.
It has a striking deficit. It tends to generalize from too winning a single case.
Bardem's fine performance aside, there's a certain ordinariness to The Sea Inside.
Amenábar shows us the aching depth of Sampedro's loss and makes his most eloquent statement on behalf of a man who only wanted control of his destiny.
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.
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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