Mar Adentro (Spain/France/Italy) (Canal+/TVE) (2004) ***1/2Year: 2004iMDB
Director: Alejandro Amenabar Cast: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Duenas
The Sea Inside tells the true story of Ramon Sampedro and his fight, after 30 years of paralysis from the neck down, for his right to euthanasia, to die with dignity and end a life that he now considered humiliating. It is very difficult to approach a subject so obviously dramatic and disturbing, and create a captivating movie, in which happy ending would mean the death of the main character. Amenabar and Javier Bardem as Sampedro manage to pull it off though in a remarkable fashion.
Sampedro, also a writer, makes a very compelling case about life, love and the right to choose his own destiny. The people around him are all devoted to him and care for him and are torn between the desire to help him out and grant him his wish, and their love which would want him alive. The Sea Inside is not a movie for everyone. It is not even a movie for myself. But it is filled with poetry, sensibility and a natural feel, in a way that manages to avoid falling into melodramatic.
Posted by TheCasualCritic on January 11, 2005 01:38 PM | TrackBack