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 | Music Score Composed By Director

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 60 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

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:

This is the second Spanish movie about Ramon Sampedro's life. The first one was Condenado a vivir (2001) (TV).

Quotes:

Ramón Sampedro: [in monologue] Only time and the evolution of consciences will decide one day if my request was reasonable or not.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Spanish Movie (2009)

Soundtrack:

Negra sombra

The core moral question

Many more eloquent reviews than this have described the quite spectacular acting, casting and styling of this film. It appears that the only negative reviews focus on a perceived imbalance in the film's handling of the core moral question (euthanasia).

This film is, bar the final scenes, meticulous in stressing Ramon's belief that he's not making some grand point but merely that, for him, a life devoid of dignity is a life not worth living. We, as viewers, see an enormous amount of dignity in his life - we see family and friends and culture and, but for its physical limitations, a life fully lived. Central to the tragedy of this film is that there is really only one person who thinks that Ramon's life is not worth living - and that is him.

To watch this film and say that the only counter argument comes from the visit of a bumbling priest is a nonsense. The priest's visit is pure farce, a direct assault on the simplicity of the Spanish Catholic Church's response to the issue of euthanasia. However, the sister's parting words to the priest momentarily expose the powerful 'pro-life' sentiments quietly underpinning the entire film. We are constantly encouraged to see the hope and the beauty of a life lived with love. As the film progresses, we may gradually be encouraged to understand Ramon's reasoning but we are never reconciled to his decision.

I do not remember a film which moved me and provoked me as much as this.