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Movies / On DVD / The Sea Inside
The Sea Inside

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The Sea Inside (2004)

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Reviews Counted:126

Fresh:105

Rotten:21

Average Rating:7.5/10

Consensus: Critics are hailing Alejandro Amenabar’s portrait of a man who chooses to die as Oscar-worthy, powerful and life-affirming, in its way. However, some have called it melodramatic and manipulative.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for intense depiction of mature thematic material.

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:11-02-2005

Synopsis: Javier Bardem gives a remarkable, unforgettable performance in Alejandro Amenabar's gripping drama about dying with dignity, THE SEA INSIDE. Thirty-five-year-old Bardem plays 55-year-old Ramon... Javier Bardem gives a remarkable, unforgettable performance in Alejandro Amenabar's gripping drama about dying with dignity, THE SEA INSIDE. 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. His radical decision sets off controversy throughout Spain--as well as in his own house, where his family and friends all have different opinions on the fate he has chosen. While Ramon's father (Alberto Gimenez) and brother (Celso Bugallo) refuse to help him die, and his nephew, Javi (Tamar Novas), tries to understand his uncle's decision, Ramon is surrounded by women who virtually fight over him--Rosa (Lola Duenas), a single mother of two who visits him to talk about her difficult life; Manuela (Mabel Rivera), his sister-in-law who takes care of his daily needs; Gene (Clara Segura), who works for the Death with Dignity organization; and Julia (Belen Rueda, in a powerful film debut), a married lawyer with a secret of her own. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Venice Film Festival, THE SEA INSIDE is a special film with marvelous acting, a strong soundtrack, a moving story, and an enchanting visual style that features poetic shots of the countryside as Ramon dreams he can fly. [More]

Starring: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Dueńas, Mabel Rivera

Starring: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Dueńas, Mabel Rivera, Celso Bugallo, Clara Segura, Tamar Novas, Francesco Garrido, Joan Dalmau, Jose Maria Pou

Director: Alejandro Amenábar

Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Screenwriter: Mateo Gil, Alejandro Amenábar
Producer: Fernando Bovaira, Alejandro Amenábar
Composer: Alejandro Amenábar
Studio: Fine Line Features

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Reviews for The Sea Inside

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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The acting in the film is superb, especially by Bardem, who richly deserved his Academy Award nomination.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
04/06/05
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

Javier Bardem gives a remarkable, delicately honed performance.

Full Review Source: Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) | comment Comment
04/01/05
Randy Shulman
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

Rare is the motion picture which grapples with issues this provocative and profound. Rarer still is one which does so this well.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
03/22/05
Rick Kisonak
Rick Kisonak
Film Threat

Had its beautiful moments but also had its soap opera moments.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/19/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Respectable but undistinguished, and it places a distant second to 2004's other award winner about euthanasia (don't ask, won't tell).

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
03/18/05
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Bardem's performance, a true triumph of face acting, imbues the character with simultaneous impish mischief and weary resignation.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
03/17/05
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

It's curious that the assisted-suicide debate over a late plot twist in Million Dollar Baby didn't rage over this one. After all, Amenabar is dealing with a real life.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
03/10/05
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

A lyrical and warm film.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
03/04/05
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Bardem is simply astounding as Sampedro.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
03/04/05
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

If ever there was a film that deserved to get the proverbial bump from Oscar, this is it. Rarely has any film so focused on death felt so vibrantly alive.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
03/04/05
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press

Built around Bardem's immobile presence, the film can't help but seem stolidly monumental even as it explores issues that are heart-wrenchingly personal.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
03/04/05
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
03/03/05
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Un viaje doloroso, claro, pero cargado de esperanza y optimismo. (...)Amenábar (...) ha hecho una película sobre el deseo de morir que, en realidad, está llena de vida.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
03/03/05
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/02/05
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The journey to death can be tremendously life-affirming.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
03/02/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Bardem contributes layers of weariness and passion that gives us a visceral understanding of the life his character is mourning for.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Mercury | comment Comment
02/28/05
Anthony Del Valle
Anthony Del Valle
Las Vegas Mercury

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
02/27/05
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle

Bardem's physical constraints here do not hold him back from creating the most riveting and soul stirring character captured on film in 2004

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
02/25/05
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Bardem delivers a shattering performance in "The Sea Inside," bringing Ramon to life with quiet but exquisite conviction.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
02/25/05
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

What really makes the film watchable is yet another terrific lead performance by Javier Bardem, an actor who only gets better with age.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
02/25/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Latest News for The Sea Inside

July 11, 2006: Natalie Portman Will Do Naked in Next Film
This one's for all you Portman pervs out there -- the erstwhile Queen Amidala is set to go fully nude in her upcoming pic "Goya's Ghosts," in which she plays the... More...

February 17, 2006: Newell & Bardem Come Down with "Cholera"
International acting stud Javier Bardem and well-rounded movie director Mike Newell are about to bring the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Love in the Time of Cholera" to the... More...

December 16, 2005: London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are announced. Keep in mind that the Brit crits use their... More...

April 20, 2005: Bardem & Portman to Discover "Goya's Ghosts"
Javier Bardem ("Before Night Falls") and Natalie Portman ("Closer") are in final talks to star in the bio-pic "Goya's Ghosts," says Variety. The... More...

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