The Sea Inside

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Harry S Nov 21, 2018 smart negotiations and impressive tactics.. The Sea Inside Amenabar's resistance force is much more powerful than the opposing one that tries to penetrate it. Without overridden the complex issues like dwelling on the past and the backstory of the protagonist, it is pretty much what's up front. And dealing it with smart negotiations and impressive tactics, Amenabar keeps the storyline on the edge and the emotions on the surface. And despite of it being dipped entirely into a pathos bubble, it never grows manipulative, it succumbs a bit to express on a large scale similar to its characters, but the message finally reaches adequately to the audience. The fascinating substance in here is not the concept, but where the storyline which drives that little piece of idea. Also, personal story aside, the debate that it ping pongs throughout the movie about the life and death is worth pondering about. Obviously the characters are humble and caring on both the sides but they are also gritty and honest. The conversations are pragmatic and layered monologues echos between those silent pitches. It is a tale that relies a lot upon the performance and the cast is giving their best and are thoroughly convincing. Bardem once again proves that he is the real deal. He chokes up at essential moments whilst breaking down that melts you down. His emotions paints this darker picture into a brighter one with an inspiring tone of fighting back for one more round. The supporting cast too has done a tremendous work on delivering the magnitude of the situation and serve it up front. The dramatic sequences are weaved out to be cinematic where each step of the structure is glorified to keep the audience tangled. The Sea Inside is more of what's inside Bardem's gift basket that he keeps offering, a tremendous work on portraying such a role. See more

Nov 16, 2017 Ramon Sampedro's Courageous Journey Paralysed from the neck down for over 25 years, Ramon is trapped in a tragic prison - his own body. If he were able to move his arm, he could shoot himself and deliver himself from irrelievable, profound and intolerable existential suffering. As Ramon himself eloquently stated, "In my dreams, the one commonality is that I can walk." But because of ass-backwards laws in Spain, all he can do is starve himself or find people to help him, illegally. An ignorant but well-intentioned woman visits Ramon near the film's outset. She is baffled at how a man who smiles so readily could want to die. He explains that his smiles are simply a curtain over his grief, pain and tears. He soon asks the arrogant and presumptuous woman to leave. This is nothing compared to the arrogance of a quadriplegic priest, who not only has his faith to sustain him, but billions in church resources to draw upon if he should ever need to. His non-sequitor argument, that "freedom without life isn't freedom", ignores millennia of bloodshed and sacrifice in the name of freedom and liberty for all. I found his behaviour repugnant, especially when he countered Ramon's appeal to public support by Godwinning himself and equating that support to that provided to the Nazis by the German people. While the majority of this powerful true story concerns Ramon's fight to legalise and obtain assistance to die, other characters are crucial and unforgettable, including his family and a woman who intends to end her life before her incurable, lifelong illness becomes unbearable to her. They round out the film and create a profound and realistic three-dimensional experience. Legislative change will come, and it will come soon, as baby boomers age. A placard raised at a protest in Ramon's honour read "Life is a right, not an obligation." Nothing could be more true. A life that is compulsory, not to mention miserable, is torture. And paternalistic torture at the hands of the state is one of the most profoundly abhorrent kinds of torture possible. See more

Abraham S Sep 12, 2017 Pretty depressing movie. Javier Bardem is magnificent in the film. The supporting acting was half good - half bad. The story was fantastic, along with the pacing. It got a bit slow in the middle, but it pulled right through. Overall, pretty good movie. See more

Finn P Jun 10, 2017 Extraordinary, poetic reflection on assisted suicide, particularly powerful if you don't know the ending.

Hermione L Apr 7, 2017 Javier Bardem turns in another remarkable performance as Ramon Sampedro, a paraplegic right-to-die campaigner from Spain. Acting primarily from the neck up (in middle-aged make-up), he is charismatic, bitter, and steadfast in his desire to die. Director Alejandro Amenábar inserts Ramon into his relationship context: brother and sister-in-law taking care of him, impressionable nephew, and two potential love interests. There are also flashbacks to his accident (diving into a shallow tidepool) and fantasy sequences where he is no longer paralysed (which break the film out of its one-room set and given the cinematographer a chance to zoom over the beautiful landscape). Of course, all viewers will be waiting for the inevitable money shot (Sampedro died in 1998). The arguments about euthanasia seem to take a backseat to the human drama in the foreground, except for a comical argument between a paraplegic priest and Sampedro shouted up and down the stairs (due to wheelchair inaccessibility). I think the film would have been better as a whole if Amenábar had found a way to get more philosophical and political substance into it, but there is no denying Bardem. See more

Kylo R Apr 3, 2016 Very-very-very sad movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

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The Sea Inside

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