Review of The Sea Inside (2004) by Filipeneto — 03 Oct 2021

I find it difficult to remain indifferent to this film, directed by Alejandro Amenábar, one of the best and most respected Spanish directors today. The film is strongly based on the life of Ramón Sampedro, a Spanish quadriplegic who defended the right to euthanasia and ended up committing suicide, with the support of a friend. It is, therefore, a strongly fractured film, which is hated or adored depending on whether the public defends, or rejects, euthanasia. There is no way to avoid this: the film is not just a biography, it does not adopt a neutral stance... the film defends Sampedro's perspective and the supposed right to die.

Personally, I am against euthanasia. Radically. It was a topic debated in my country not long ago, and I was one of many who fought against it, just as I would have done if capital punishment had been discussed, and in the same way as I did before when abortion was debated. As a rule, I do not accept that a man may have the legal right to take another human being's life, even if he asks for it repeatedly (this is what happens in euthanasia, as we assume that they are people who would have already committed suicide if they could do it by their own means). The right to die cannot supersede the moral duty not to kill. It's my opinion. And so, seeing this film shocked me for its militancy in favor of euthanasia. I understand the reasons, but I can't agree.

But this only serves to understand why I gave the film such a low rating: it is not because the film is bad, but because it is so militant, like a very expensive piece of propaganda. Bardem's character says that he doesn't feel alive because he is only able to talk and move his head, depending entirely on others. Jean-Dominique Bauby, whose life was also brought to the movies with "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly", was so paralyzed that he could only blink one eye, and he still managed to write a book! If we stop for a moment and look around, we will see many other cases of people, including anonymous ones, who endure suffering lives the same way, or event worse, than Señor Sampedro, and who manage to be examples of persistence and tenaciousness. Giving up our own life is simply throwing the towel to the ground.

Javier Bardem is an excellent actor, and it costs me to see him associated with a film as propagandistic as this one, but I recognize his excellent work and his commitment to the character. It's not just a question of makeup, although that helped... the actor is good, and he's in great shape here. Belén Rueda is also a good addition to the cast and gives us one of the most important jobs of his career so far. There are other good actors, like Clara Segura or Lola Dueñas, but I confess I don't know them that well.

Technically, the film has Amenábar's master hand, starting with its careful cinematography and excellent filming work. The light, the use of colors (the highlight is blue and gray tones in some more intimate scenes), the shadows, all helped the director to create an environment conducive to moral, almost philosophical, meditation. The dialogues are important, although Bardem's text contains the most propaganda-laden pieces, some of them authentic monologues. The sets and costumes are good, the choice of filming locations is excellent, the soundtrack is immersive... everything is quite good. It's just a pity to be propaganda.