Mar adentro (2004/I)

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar (screenplay) and
Mateo Gil (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 September 2004 (Italy)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The real-life story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 30 year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Euthanasia | Quadriplegic | Right To Die | Fantasy Sequence

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 59 wins & 30 nominations

Cast

Javier Bardem	...	Ramón Sampedro
Belén Rueda	...	Julia
Lola Dueñas	...	Rosa
Mabel Rivera	...	Manuela
Celso Bugallo	...	José
Clara Segura	...	Gené
Joan Dalmau	...	Joaquín
Alberto Jiménez	...	Germán
Tamar Novas	...	Javi
Francesc Garrido	...	Marc
Josep Maria Pou	...	Padre Francisco (as José María Pou)
Alberto Amarilla	...	Hermano Andrés
Andrea Occhipinti	...	Santiago
Federico Pérez Rey	...	Conductor
Nicolás Fernández Luna	...	Cristian
Raúl Lavisier	...	Samuel
Xosé Manuel Olveira 'Pico'	...	Juez 1
César Cambeiro	...	Juez 2
Xosé Manuel Esperante	...	Periodista 1
Yolanda Muiños	...	Periodista 2
Adolfo Obregón	...	Ejecutivo
José Luis Rodríguez	...	Presentador
Julio Jordán	...	Encuadernador
Juan Manuel Vidal	...	Amigo Ramón
Marta Larralde	...	Muchacha Playa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jordi Ballester

Directed by
Alejandro Amenábar

Writing credits
Alejandro Amenábar		(screenplay) and
Mateo Gil		(screenplay)

Produced by
Alejandro Amenábar	....	producer
Fernando Bovaira	....	producer
Emiliano Otegui	....	line producer

Original Music by
Alejandro Amenábar

Cinematography by
Javier Aguirresarobe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alejandro Amenábar

Casting by
Luis San Narciso		(casting director)

Production Design by
Benjamín Fernández

Art Direction by
Benjamín Fernández

Set Decoration by
Emilio Ardura

Costume Design by
Sonia Grande

Makeup Department
James Allen	....	special makeup assistant
Jo Allen	....	special makeup designer
Mara Collazo	....	hair stylist
Chris Fitzgerald	....	sculptor
Manolo García	....	hair stylist
Ana López Puigcerver	....	makeup artist
David Martí	....	special makeup effects artist
Ana Urosa	....	makeup artist

Production Management
José Antonio García Tapia	....	production manager
Emiliano Otegui	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Larisa Balinge	....	assistant director
José Ramón Otegui	....	second assistant director (as Joserra Otegui)
Walter Prieto	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gonzalo Anso	....	props
Alberto Báez	....	carpenter
Leo Báez	....	construction coordinator
Pedro Calderón	....	painter
Paco Calonge	....	props (as Francisco Calonge)
Manuel Casla	....	carpenter
Carlos Chamorro	....	laborer
Manuel Chamorro	....	carpenter
Salvador Comes	....	painter
Blas Díaz	....	carpenter
Francisco Díaz	....	carpenter
Alejandro Fernández	....	assistant art director
Francisco Fernández	....	carpenter
Antonio Lopez	....	carpenter
Natalia Montes	....	storyboard artist
Rubén Rivas	....	graphic designer
Tino Torrescusa	....	property master
Ana Viana	....	apprentice art director
Juan Ignacio Viñuales	....	props

Sound Department
Susana Benito	....	assistant sound mixer
Ricard Camprodón	....	sound consultant: SDDS
Manuel Cora	....	sound consultant: DTS
Juan Ferro	....	sound editor
Alfonso Raposo	....	sound mixer
Guillermo Solana	....	boom operator
María Steinberg	....	sound editor
María Steinberg	....	sound effects editor
Ricardo Steinberg	....	sound
Ricardo Viñas	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby

Special Effects by
David Campos	....	special effects
Pau Costa	....	special effects supervisor
Giacomo Iovino	....	mold maker
Javier Jal	....	special effects technician
Javier H. Moneo	....	special effects technician
Julio Navarro	....	special effects technician
Raúl Romanillos	....	special effects supervisor
Juan Serrano	....	special effects technician: DDT SFX
Stuart Sewell	....	mold maker

Visual Effects by
Sara Alavés	....	visual effects producer
Nike Alonso	....	visual effects producer
Helmuth Barnert	....	digital compositor
Manuel Barrero	....	digital restoration: Fotofilm Madrid
Félix Bergés	....	visual effects supervisor
Montse Capdevila	....	digital compositor
María Carretero	....	graphic effects artist
Gonzalo Carrión	....	3D infography
Eduardo Díaz	....	digital compositor
Juancho Fernández	....	digital compositor
Segundo Fernández	....	digital compositor
Vincent Gilot	....	motion control operator
Tim Mendler	....	motion control operator
Matías Nieto	....	time lapse photography
Guillermo Orbe	....	digital compositor
Thorsten Rienth	....	digital compositor
Rubén Sanz	....	visual effects producer
Rafa Solorzano	....	visual effects supervisor (as Rafael Solorzano)
Carlos Trijueque	....	digital compositor
El Khadir Palomo Yusef	....	3D operator

Stunts
Guiomar Alonso	....	stunts
Eugenio Jiménez	....	stunts
Miguel Pedregosa	....	stunt coordinator
Álvaro Quiroga	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Miguel Balanzategui	....	combo operator
Ion Barco	....	apprentice camera (as Jon Barco )
Miguel Cano	....	electrician
Gustavo de la Fuente	....	assistant camera
Rafael García Martos	....	gaffer
Raúl García	....	assistant camera
Yosu Inchaustegui	....	Steadicam operator (as Josu Inchaustegui)
Yosu Inchaustegui	....	second assistant camera (as Josu Inchaustegui)
Teresa Isasi	....	still photographer
Carlos Miguel	....	key grip
Juan Ramos	....	Steadicam operator: second unit
Juan Matías Ramos	....	Steadicam operator: second unit
Alberto Sánchez Beltrán	....	electrician (as Alberto Sánchez)
Marcelino San Eugenio	....	electrician
James Swanson	....	aerial director of photography

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cristina Martínez	....	costume assistant
Cristina Ureña	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Carlos Agulló	....	assistant editor
Paolo Balestrazzi	....	assistant editor
Yolanda Cáceres	....	color timer
Felisa Catalinas	....	negative cutter
Manuela Díaz	....	post-production: Sogecine
Enrique Domínguez	....	assistant editor
Eladio Fernández	....	post-production: Sogecine
Miguel P. Gilaberte	....	digital intermediate colorist

Music Department
Chris Barrett	....	assistant music engineer
Xavier Capellas	....	orchestrator
Nicholas Cervonaro	....	assistant music engineer (as Nick Cervonaro)
José Luis Crespo	....	music mixer
Álvaro Cruz	....	assistant music engineer
Lucio Godoy	....	music producer
Claudio Ianni	....	orchestrator
Brian Masterson	....	music recording engineer
Carlos Núñez	....	soundtrack collaborator
Rubén Suárez	....	assistant music engineer
Gavyn Wright	....	orchestra leader

Other crew
Pablo Alfaro	....	financial director: Sogecine
Francisco Arnoso 'Pixi'	....	production assistant: Galicia
Antonio Bazaga	....	advisor
Yuyi Beringola	....	script supervisor
Beatriz Bodegas	....	legal assistant: Sogecine
Soledad Cebrián	....	accountant: Sogecine
Eduardo Chapero-Jackson	....	production crew: Sogecine
Urko Errazquin	....	marketing: Sogecine
Fernando Esteban	....	legal department: Sogecine
Marian Fernández	....	production assistant
Luis Ferrón	....	production assistant
Mar Francolí	....	location manager: Galicia
Virginia Galvez	....	production assistant: Barcelona (as Virginia Gálvez)
Nuria Garcia Atienza	....	production crew: Sogecine (as Nuria Gª Atienza)
Marga García	....	marketing: Sogecine
Rosa Garcia	....	publicist
Valentín García	....	production assistant: Galicia
Susana Herreras	....	production crew: Sogecine
Lola Liñares	....	production assistant
Javier Martín	....	accountant: Sogecine
José Miguel Mendiola	....	production accountant
César Mendizábal	....	directors apprentice
Eva Muslera	....	production controller: Sogecine
Frédéric North	....	helicopter pilot (as Fred North)
Luc Poullain	....	aerial coordinator
Carmen Rico	....	production secretary
Noelia Romero	....	accountant: Sogecine
Cecilia Rubio	....	legal department: Sogecine
Francisco Sanchez Ortiz	....	marketing: Sogecine (as Francisco Sánchez Ortíz)
Germán Sela	....	marketing: Sogecine
Eva Soto	....	publicist: Sogecine
Guillem Vidal-Folch	....	production apprentice: Barcelona
Daniel M. Villalba	....	second production assistant
Daniel Villagomez	....	credits administrator (uncredited)

Thanks
Ramona Maneiro	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Sogepaq (presents)
• Sociedad General de Cine (SOGECINE) S.A.
• Himenóptero
• Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC) (co-production)
• Eyescreen S.r.l. (co-production)
• Televisión Española (TVE) (collaboration)
• Canal+ (collaboration)
• Televisión de Galicia (TVG) S.A. (collaboration)
• Filmanova (collaboration) (as Filmnova Invest)
• Eurimages (supported by)
• Ministerio de Cultura (supported by)

Distributors

• Sogepaq Distribución (2004) (worldwide) (all media)
• Sogepaq (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Fine Line Features (2004) (USA) (all media) (subtitled)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (2005) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• SPI International (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• TOBIS Film (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Toho-Towa (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2004) (Italy) (all media)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vidéo (2005) (France) (DVD)
• Warner Sogefilms S.A.

Special Effects

• Efe-X

Other Companies

• Aerial Camera Systems  helicopter gyrostabilized camera system
• Air Studios  music recorded at
• Cinetel  electrical equipment
• EPC  camera equipment
• EPC  grip equipment
• El Igloo P.C. S.L.  editing
• Exa S.A.  sound mixing studio
• Falco Ink.  publicity
• Fotosíntesis  still photographies laboratory
• La Coartada  extras casting
• Madrid Film S.A.  film lab
• Red Led  music mixed at
• Tot Models  extras casting

Also Known As:

The Sea Inside (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Mare dentro (Italy)
The Sea Within (Europe: English title)
Gråta med ett leende (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Море внутри (Russia) [ru]
Belsö tenger (Hungary) [hu]
Das Meer in mir (Germany) [de]
Havet innenfor (Norway) [no]
I thalassa mesa mou (Greece) [el]
Içimdeki deniz (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Mar Adentro (Brazil) [pt]
Marea dinauntru (Romania) [ro]
Meri sisälläni (Finland) [fi]
Mit indre hav (Denmark) [da]
Sisemeri (Estonia) [et]
W strone morza (Poland) [pl]
Zivot je more (Croatia) [hr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense depiction of mature thematic material.

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Spain | France | Italy

Language:

Spanish | Catalan | Galician

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:7 | Greece:K-13 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:12A | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Norway:11

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Sogepaq

Trivia:

Nominated by the Spanish Cinematographic Academy, to represent Spain in the 2004 Oscar Awards, Foreign Language film.

Quotes:

Joaquín: There's only one thing worse than having your son die on you... him wanting to.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 20th IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Cosmic

A Biopic That Asks Disturbing Questions

Director and co-writer Alejandro Amenabar didn't make things easy for viewers of his taut, a bit overlong but very disturbing story, accurately based on a Spanish man's struggle to obtain assisted suicide. "Mar Adentro" ("The Sea Inside") is gripping and its impact far exceeds the time spent in the theater.

With the award-winning Canadian movie, "The Barbarian Invasions," folks got to see a family along with a coterie of devoted friends address the wish of a beloved albeit irascible man to end his life. In that movie, the center of attention suffered from progressive, incurable cancer and his descent into a terminal stage was fast. Emotional as the scenes were, death was inevitable - the question was how gentle could it be made through solicited intervention.

Ramon Sampedro (brilliantly played by Javier Bardem) is a different story. For well over two decades he's been a quadriplegic because of a diving accident. (Very sharp viewers may detect a terrible irony as to why he ended in that condition because of his improvident dive.) Once a world traveler and lover of beautiful women, he now lies trapped in an immobile body, his every need attended to by a truly devoted family who willingly surrender much of their privacy and time to sustain their beloved relation.

Rosa (Lola Duenas), a single mom of two small boys, enters the Sampedro household out of what might have been mere curiosity to learn about the paralyzed man's plight but she becomes both an emotionally supportive centerpiece for Ramon as well as an amusing but occasionally aggravating presence. A nice performance by Duenas.

The problem, of course, is that Sampedro isn't sick in the normal sense. He may well live for decades more with proper care. So his softly but persistently voiced desire to end his life with "dignity" creates a moral dilemma for friends and relatives who, not surprisingly, react from different ethical and religious perspectives.

Ramon is the poster quad of a group dedicated to changing Spain's laws concerning assisted suicide. "Death with Dignity" is their watchword. Gene (Clara Segura) is a sensitive activist who enlists the aid of pro bono publico counsel, Julia (Belen Rueda). Julia has her own health issues which carry an indefinite but catastrophic prognosis. Happily married to a devoted spouse, she bonds emotionally with her client.

What follows is an acutely sensitive interplay of values and emotions. Ramon lives with his brother and wife, their technophile teenage son, not the intellectual Ramon is, and his aged dad who can't stop grieving over his son's cataclysmic descent into absolute helplessness.

The moral and legal issues are played out through excellent acting and short vignettes including a courtroom scene in which formalism triumphs over any judicial interpretation that might take into account Ramon's feelings and views. It may be Spain but the issues are alive in most countries, including the U.S.

Especially amusing is a shouted, first floor to bedroom, debate between Ramon with a drop-in, lecturing Jesuit priest, also a quadriplegic but one whose hidebound dogma casually masks the absence of a soul.

Special kudos to Mabel Rivera, Ramon's sister-in-law-Manuela, for a wrenchingly authentic portrayal of a strong woman who holds the family together. And the same compliment fulsomely extends to Belen Rueda, Julia, who segues from objective advocate to close friend to a woman hurtling towards a dark fate.

The director imposes no value judgments allowing each character full range to express his or her feelings effectively and, at times, movingly. Like "Dead Man Walking," this movie can support any view about its deadly subject.

No one can stop a person from committing suicide if he/she is determined but the universal tragedy of the world's Ramons is that without assistance, life in a body in which only the heart beats and only the head can move is a sentence no court could pronounce on the most depraved of criminals.

The cinematography is well-matched to the story and the beautiful Galician scenes are an intended contrast to the limited views the once globe-trotting Ramon experiences from his special bed.

9/10