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The Sea Inside
Theatrical poster by Toni Galingo.
Directed by	Alejandro Amenábar
Written by	Alejandro Amenábar Mateo Gil
Produced by	Alejandro Amenábar Fernando Bovaira
Starring	Javier Bardem Belén Rueda Lola Dueñas Mabel Rivera Celso Bugallo
Cinematography	Javier Aguirresarobe
Edited by	Alejandro Amenábar
Music by	Alejandro Amenábar
Production companies	Sogepaq UGC Images Eyescreen
Distributed by	Warner Sogefilms (Spain) UGC Fox Distribution (France) Lucky Red (Italy)
Release date	3 September 2004 (2004-09-03)
Running time	125 minutes
Countries	Spain France Italy
Languages	Spanish Galician Catalan
Budget	€10 million
Box office	$43.7 million

The Sea Inside (Spanish: Mar adentro) is a 2004 Spanish psychological drama film co-written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, who also co-produced, scored and edited. It is based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro (played by Javier Bardem), who was left quadriplegic after a diving accident, and his 28-year campaign in support of euthanasia and the right to end his life. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Plot

This is the life story of Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, who fought a 28-year campaign to win the right to end his own life with assisted suicide. The film explores Ramón's relationships with two women: Julia, a lawyer suffering from Cadasil syndrome who supports his cause, and Rosa, a local woman who wants to convince him that his life is worth living. Through the gift of his love, these two women are inspired to accomplish things they never previously thought possible.

Ramón, now 54 years old, has been fighting for 26 years for his right to die following a diving incident which left him paralysed from the neck down. He is unable to end his life by himself and does not wish to implicate his family or friends, as by Spanish law, they would be charged with murder or assisting a suicide. Following the death of his mother, he is cared for by his sister-in-law, Manuela. Ramón's elder brother José does not believe he should have the right to die; both Manuela and her son, Javier, believe in his case.

Ramón's friend Gené, who works for an organization fighting for the right to die, puts him in contact with Julia, a lawyer. As she seeks to learn more about him and his situation in order to fight for his cause, he recounts his past and his reasons for wanting to die: He says that there is no dignity in living paralysed. After seeing his story online, Rosa visits Ramón to convince him to live. He demands that she respect his wishes and she leaves, upset. Later, whilst DJing her part-time radio show, she apologises on air in the hopes that he is listening. She continues to visit, bringing her children, and the two strike up a friendship. Despite romantic interest in both women, Ramón maintains that he is spoken for by death.

Julia reads Ramón's memoir describing his life and experiences as a quadriplegic and urges him to publish it. He imagines flying from his bed to visit her on the beach. Later, she is hospitalised with a stroke and admitted to rehab to relearn how to walk. The two write letters to each other, sending updates of their lives. Ramón loses a court case for his right to die. Rosa, in tears, appears at his house and Ramón admits that he has planned a way to commit suicide without the direct and obvious involvement of anyone else.

Meanwhile, Padre Francisco, a quadriplegic Catholic priest, comes to convince Ramón to want to live. Ramón refuses to be carried downstairs and so the two men converse through the help of a church boy, who runs up and down to share their arguments. Angry and upset, Manuela asks him to leave. Julia visits to assist Ramón in writing his memoir whilst his family and friends discuss his right to die. Divided, they fight. But Ramón is unwavering in his wish. Again, he imagines that he is able-bodied, kissing Julia. Later, she admits that her condition will only become more severe and that she is planning to kill herself. But first, she would like to help Ramón.

Ramón and Javier work together to design and build a wheelchair for him in which he can appear in court to fight for his own right to die. His appeal is ultimately rejected, but Ramón eventually fulfils his wish nonetheless. Each of his friends and family complete a small action in his death; not enough to convict any of them of his murder or assisting his suicide. He records himself on a video camera, narrating his own death, before ingesting a cyanide-laced drink that kills him.

Cast

Sampedro family

• Javier Bardem as Ramón Sampedro
• Celso Bugallo as José Sampedro, Ramón's elder brother
• Mabel Rivera as Manuela, José's wife and Ramón's caregiver
• Tamar Novas as Javier Sampedro, Ramón's nephew
• Joan Dalmau as Joaquín Sampedro, Ramón and José's father

Ramon's friends

• Belén Rueda as Julia
• Alberto Jiménez as Germán, Julia's husband
• Lola Dueñas as Rosa
• Nicolás Fernández Luna as Cristian, Rosa's elder son
• Raúl Lavisier as Samuel, her younger son
• Clara Segura as Gené
• Francesc Garrido as Marc, Gené's husband

Others

• Josep Maria Pou as Padre Francisco, a quadriplegic Catholic priest
• Alberto Amarilla as Hermano Andrés
• Andrea Occhipinti as Santiago
• Federico Pérez Rey as Conductor (Driver)
• Xosé Manuel Olveira as Juez 1 (Judge 1)
• César Cambeiro as Juez 2
• Xosé Manuel Esperanto as Periodista 1 (Reporter 1)
• Yolanda Muiños as Periodista 2
• Adolfo Obregón as Ejecutivo (Executive)
• José Luis Rodríguez as Presentador (TV host)
• Julio Jordán as Encuadernador (Bookbinder)
• Juan Manuel Vidal as Amigo Ramón (Ramón's friend)
• Marta Larralde as Muchacha en la playa (Girl on beach)
• Jacob Ahlgren as himself (Baller)

Reception

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from critics. It currently holds an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. Its consensus summary states: "Held aloft by a transfixing performance from Javier Bardem as a terminally ill man who chooses to die, The Sea Inside transcends its melodramatic story with tenderness and grace." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2004
• List of submissions to the 77th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Spanish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)

References

1. ^ "Film #22515: Mar adentro". Lumiere. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
2. "The Sea Inside". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
3. "The Sea Inside (2004)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
4. "The 77th Academy Awards (2005) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
5. Newcott, Bill (March 2006). "Movies for Grownups Awards 2006". aarp.org.
6. "2006 Argentine Film Critics Association Awards". Mubi. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
7. "2006 Ariel Awards". Mubi. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
8. "2005 Bangkok International Film Festival". Mubi. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
9. "Kim Ki-duk, Grand Prix de l'UCC". La Libre Belgique (in French). January 9, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
10. "Camerimage 2004". Camerimage. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
11. "The BFCA Critics' Choice Awards :: 2004". Broadcast Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
12. "2005 David di Donatello Awards". Mubi. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
13. "2004 European Film Awards". European Film Awards. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
14. ""Mar adentro" gana el premio José María Forqué". ABC. 28 April 2005.
15. "2004 Gold Derby Film Awards". Gold Derby. 7 March 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
16. "The Sea Inside – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
17. "Estos son los premios de los PREMIOS GOYA 2005". Premios Goya (in Spanish). Retrieved October 13, 2020.
18. "36 Years of Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Independent Spirit Awards. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
19. "2004 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
20. "2004 Ondas Awards". Ondas Awards. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
21. "2006 Georges Winners". Russian National Movie Awards. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
22. "International Press Academy website – 2005 9th Annual SATELLITE Awards". Archived from the original on 2 February 2008.
23. "2004 Utah Film Critics Association Awards". utahfilmcritics.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
24. "Official Awards of the 61st Venice Film Festival". labiennale.org. Archived from the original on 15 September 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
25. "World Soundtrack Awards". World Soundtrack Awards. Retrieved December 18, 2021.

External links

• Promotional site for US region
• The Sea Inside at IMDb
• The Sea Inside at Box Office Mojo
• The Sea Inside in Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Film. Eds. Alex Pinar and Salvador Jimenez Murguia. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018

• 2004 films
• 2004 drama films
• 2000s psychological drama films
• French biographical drama films
• French psychological drama films
• Italian psychological drama films
• Spanish biographical drama films
• Best Film Goya Award winners
• Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners
• Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe winners
• Films about euthanasia
• Films about people with paraplegia or tetraplegia
• Films directed by Alejandro Amenábar
• Films scored by Alejandro Amenábar
• Films featuring a Best Actor Goya Award–winning performance
• Films featuring a Best Actress Goya Award–winning performance
• Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Goya Award–winning performance
• Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Goya Award–winning performance
• Films set in Spain
• Films set in the 1990s
• Films shot in Barcelona
• Films shot in Madrid
• Galicia (Spain) in fiction
• 2000s Catalan-language films
• 2000s Spanish-language films
• Galician-language films
• Venice Grand Jury Prize winners
• Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film winners
• 2004 independent films
• Films with screenplays by Mateo Gil
• 2000s Spanish films
• 2000s French films
• 2000s Italian films
• Films about disability in Spain
• Films set in Galicia (Spain)
• Spanish psychological drama films
• Catalan-language films
• Films about disability in France