The Sea Inside

Directed by Alejandro Amenábar

Released December 2004; with English subtitles

Rating: ***

The Sea Inside [Mar Adentro] is based on the true story of Ramón Sampedro. Sampedro was quadriplegic and campaigned for 30 years for the right to end his own life. Javier Bardem gives an exquisite portrayal of Sampedro, a former ship's mechanic who broke his neck in a diving accident aged 23, and his central performance is one of the reasons this film works so well. For the past 30 years, he has been looked after by his brother José (Celso Bugallo) and his family while he pursues his legal case.

Sampedro's case caused controversy in Spain, a predominantly Catholic country, during his campaign. In 1998, a year after his legal case ended, he died mysteriously aged 55. Who helped him to die is still unknown. At this time, euthanasia is, in many countries, a contentious issue although neither Sampedro nor this film preaches for or against the issue. Its philosophy is of living and dying with dignity and the right of each individual to choose how to do either.

This is a moving and touching film which is occasionally sombre but, interestingly, never depressing; in fact, it is strangely life affirming. There are real gems in the film which is beautifully shot from beginning to end. Particularly poignant are the scenes where Sampedro fantasises about pushing his bed aside, leaping out of his window and flying over the forest towards the ocean. He uses these fantasies to escape the bed in which he is confined, totally dependent on others and filled with the frustrations and lack of dignity that his condition imposes on him.

His motherly sister in law has cared for him patiently and lovingly all these years and neither she nor her husband support Sampedro's wish to die. Two other women become important to him. A local amateur DJ (disc jockey) and single mother Rosa (Lola Dueñas) who falls in love with him and his beautiful lawyer Julia (Belén Rueda), who has a progressive condition that threatens her own quality of life. Rosa attempts to fill him with her joie de vivre whereas Julia understands his predicament and wants to help him. He falls in love with Julia while knowing the restrictions of his condition, and this emphasises the film's message: if you are denied the full capacity to love and experience life, then perhaps dying is no sin, nor a show of cowardice, as some religions dictate.

Bardem's performance is all the more remarkable as he is unable to move from the neck down. He imbues the character with a strong presence despite the fact that he is only really acting from the neck up. Apparently, he endured five hours of make up each day to age him and recede his hairline. The witty script matches the wit with which Bardem acts and the twinkle in his eye as he delivers his lines. Just as the viewer wonders how as despairing a character as Ramon spends so much time smiling someone asks him, and he replies that when “you depend entirely upon others, you learn to cry with a smile.” This wry remark touches the heart of Sampedro's predicament. He is so dependent on others that he is forced into a state of perennial gratefulness, causing him to hide his resentment of his condition and the suffering that accompanies it.

The film has already won many accolades (including 14 awards at Spain's Goya Awards and Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes) and it is a front runner for Best Foreign Film at the 2005 Academy Awards. There is little to criticise in this film, other than the intrusive score (composed by Amenábar) which seems determined to mellow the mood, despite the fact that the beauty in this film lies in allowing the viewer to observe without feeling manipulated.

The Sea Inside makes you think about what it means to have a physically debilitating condition that is permanent and life limiting. Euthanasia is a searching ethical dilemma that we will have to face at some point in our careers, and Amenábar's film provides an opportunity to think about the issue and what it means to patients.