SYNOPSIS:
Thirty-five
year old Bardem plays 55 year old Ramon Sampedro, a Galician who broke his
neck as a young man and has spent more than a quarter of a century as a
quadriplegic, confined to bed. Reflecting on his past and considering his
future, he chooses to die, petitioning the courts for permission to be euthanized
and setting off controversy throughout Spain wiht his radical decision.
At the same time, Ramon is surrounded by woman who virtually fight over
him- Rosa, a single mother of two who visits him to talk about her difficult
life; Manuele, his sister-in-law who takes care of his daily needs; Gene
who works for Death With Dignity organization and Julia a married lawyer
with a secret of her own.
MOVIE
REVIEW :
"Only
one thing worse than your kid dying on you. Him wanting to."
That was what
really struck me during the film. You have to give Alejandro Amenabar credit
-- he does his darndest to make The Sea Inside, the true story of a paraplegic
who fought to end his own life, something more, or at least something other
than, an "issue movie." The copious symbolism, lyrical flashbacks
and attempts at tender, understated character moments all hint at a herculean
effort to give the movie some arthouse cred. The great irony, though, is
that The Sea Inside is at its best when it lets loose with its most lurid,
when the soundtrack soars and we see children frolicking, couples kissing,
windmills turning, as our paralyzed, beaming leading man goes off to fight
for his death.
Characters
who are bedridden for the length of a film are difficult to deal but thanks
to Amenabar having Javier Bardem, as famed euthanasia advocate Ramon Sampedro,
smiling mournfully for roughly 95% of his screentime. Athough the movie
being an Oscar-time tearjerker, it is skillful enough to get us through
it -- Javier Bardem isn't one of the most prolific Spanish actors for nothing,
and Amenabar brings some nuance to an otherwise predictably mournful tone.
The issue
is a potent one, both emotionally and politically, and the movie takes a
position and doesn't compromise. Oh, there's a certain amount of equivocation,
just so no one gets the wrong idea -- a right-to-die activist is forced
to comment that her organization doesn't go out and tell people to commit
suicide; they support freedom, you see, "the freedom to live, the freedom
to die" -- but aside from that, Amenabar stands by his liberal stance.
And in paradoxically making Sampedro's quest to die the meaning of his life,
he finds an effective framework in which to convey it.
It works best
as a simple issue movie, a well-executed cinematic essay. Its starkest insights
are practical -- the idea of how difficult is for a crippled man to end
his life is striking, for example -- and its strongest moments are rudimentary
movie pleasures -- when acting, editing and music combine for a predictable
visceral effect. It's not life-changing stuff, but it's splendid if you
don't mind real-life, life-or-death issues being turned into pure entertainment
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
Unlike
the code 1 version, unfortunately, we are only presented with “A journey
inside the sea – A making of featurette”, a lengthy look at
the production of the film setting at 1hr and 24mins. This piece examines
the project's genesis, preproduction (such as location scouting, script
writing, casting and set building), special effects, and more. This is a
very interesting, comprehensive, rather fluff-free look behind-the-scenes.
AUDIO:
In
sound, it is immersive, ambient soundscape that wonderfully supports the
image. Just listen to the detail in the audio during Ramón's flight.
VISUAL:
The
DVD captures the skilled cinematography with great detail. Colors are bright
and bold when called for, and contrast is solid aside from some occasional
darkness to the image
MOVIE
RATING:A
DVD RATING: C+
Review by Lokman BS
