Review of The Sea Inside (2004) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012

Written, produced and directed by Alejandro Amenábar (Open Your Eyes (1997) and The Others (2001)), this is a moving drama which is cut from similar cloth to My Left Foot (1989) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), it could have been a depressing and tragic film, but there's something uplifting about it, and it has a mystical and tender quality about it, with a brilliant lead performance as well.

The Sea Inside tells the true story of Ramón Sampedro (Javiet Bardem), a Galician ship mechanic who suffered a near-fatal diving accident in 1968, which left him quadriplegic. For the next 29 years, he would lead a campaign against the Spanish government for the right to end his life.

But the film also tells the story of his relationship with two women, Julia (Belén Rueda), a lawyer suffering from Cadasil syndrome who helps Ramón with his legal campaign, and Rosa (Lola Dueñas), who tries to convince Ramón that life is worth living, but Ramón teaches those who meet him the qualities of life.

It's a touching and moving film, one that doesn't give way to cloying sentimentality, it has moments of fantasy in Ramón's dreams, it has some brilliant cinematography and Bardem is brilliant as Ramón.