 |
Thirty years after a swimming accident left him a quadraplegic, Ramon is fighting for his right to die. | score A+ |
moviereview rates films from A (unmissable) to E (unwatchable) |
| FIND A MOVIEREVIEW |
| Cast Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Duenas Director Alejandro Amenabar Screenwriter Mateo Gil Country Spain (subtitles) Rating / Running Time M / 125 minutes Australian Release April 2005 Official Site (c) moviereview
2005
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
When
Alejandro Amenábar inadvertently broke up Kidman-Cruise, he
atoned for his unintentional sin by directing Our Nicole to excellence
in The Others. Approving of
his actions, Charity put him in the path of the Academy who bestowed
his latest film with an award for Best Foreign Film. For the Chilean
director it doesn’t get much better. The Sea Inside
is many things, but mostly about the contentious subject of one
man’s fight for the right to die. Ramon (Javier Bardem – Before Night Falls)
has been paralysed since a swimming accident thirty years earlier.
Constantly cared for by his brother’s family, Ramon is a vocal
campaigner for euthanasia and his right to choose. Unlike the recent
Schaivo case, this story is distinguished by Ramon’s clear and
lucid ability to argue for himself in the face of church, state and
brotherly hostility. What’s more, The Sea Inside is a true story. Amenábar is a gifted director whose skill with actors has informed his work since Open Your Eyes
first caught international attention. In Bardem, he has one of
Spain’s finest actors whose astounding performance is central to
the film’s success. With a coy smile or raised eyebrow, he
manages to relate pages of dialogue and reduce action to its emotional
core. It is a remarkable achievement. Yet rather than dwell on the
vexed question of euthanasia, Amenábar turns Ramon’s story
into a discourse on love – what it is and how we respond to it.
Weighty material buoyed with the occasional flourish, The Sea Inside is a minor masterpiece that gives every reason to smile through the tears.
// COLIN FRASER |