The Sea Inside (Mar Adentro) | Review

Amenabar shows how the body speaks and how the mind functions.

Less about one man’s battle for the right to die and more about the moments that make life worth living, The Sea Inside shows how a paralyzed frame and the inescapable political red tape from the state hardly become the deterrents for one militant, emotionally secure quadriplegic. Based on the true story of Ramon Sampedro (Javier Bardem – The Dancer Upstairs)

, director Alejandro Amenabar and fellow screenwriter Mateo Gil make this into an unlikely euthanasia-based feature. Avoiding taboo and a text full of heavier moral and ethical debates, the filmmaker exposes the softer, compassionate more profound depths of love and plays with the notion that if you truly love someone, then you should set them free.

Making a dramatic departure from such thrillers as Abre Los Ojos and The Others, Amenabar’s bland biopic sees seasoned actor Bardem in a role that is not only limited in mobility, but the overall text feels somewhat contrived. Rather than explore the darker pit stops to one man’s journey to dying with dignity the narrative seems content in developing a text that features the sunnier side of assisted suicide. Working itself as a human piece – there are many situations of highs and lows with a sprinkling of unexpected humor – the memorable sequence involving a shouting match with a priest excellently displays the protagonist’s deep convictions. This is parlayed with a flux of loving characters that enter his life, – the revolving door of deep female admiration evokes the same kind of torment that the end of a daydream does for the cemented man. Visually, the film sports a restrained approach – the still photography, the one bedroom location deepens the protagonist’s wish to be released. The overused main flashback sequence and the dream flights in the nearby fields of the villa bring about a sense of freedom from his daily frustration and aesthetically are the parts of the film that stick out.

While Spain’s selection for Best Foreign picture reaches for – and misses the emotional jugular it is most likely Pedro Almodovar’s snubbed (Bad Education) – a uniquely devised contemporary treatment of the film-noir genre that will find its way among the critic’s top ten lists. The Sea Inside is the type of film that makes one carry a package of preparatory tissues but the package remains unopened. After the gripping scene filmed in video-camcorder format, the film’s final pause is strangely vindictive – and such moments overshadow Bardem’s stunning performance full of emotional range – it leaves one with the feeling that the material is sometimes handled in the form of a T.V movie of the week.

Rating 2 stars