What’s the Story?

Paralyzed from the neck down after a swimming accident, Ramón Sampedro (Javier Bardem) fought the Spanish government for 30 years for his right to die. THE SEA INSIDE tells the story of his real-life struggle and ultimately, his death. Ramón writes poetry and prose, listens to records and works tirelessly toward his death. At the core of the film are Ramón's relationships with his family, as well as with two women: (Belén Rueda), the lawyer who hopes to help him win his case, and Rosa (Lola Dueñas), a single mother who hopes to convince him to live. Despite the objections of his brother and public criticism, Ramón remains constant in his desire to die. Much of the film is a character study of Ramón with pertinent background information relayed through interviews with Julia and conversations with other characters.

Is It Any Good?

As Ramón, Bardem is extremely charismatic, maintaining the character's wry sense of humor throughout the film. Another standout is Tamar Novas as Ramón's teenaged nephew. From a technical standpoint, the movie is beautiful, particularly in depictions of the beautiful Spanish coast.

Although the topic of The Sea Inside would easily lend itself to a tear-jerking melodrama, the film is for the most part a quiet, meditative film. It asks difficult questions, many of them open-ended, and many of them left unanswered.

Have you seen it?

Movie Details

Studio

Fine Line Features

Director

Alejandro Amenabar

Cast

Belen Rueda
Javier Bardem
Lola Duenas

Genre

Drama

Run time

125 minutes

Theatrical release

12/17/2004

DVD release

5/17/2005

MPAA Rating

PG-13

MPAA explanation

intense depiction of mature thematic material.

For Your Family