The Sea Inside

This year's Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language film, The Sea Inside is the real-life tale of a Spanish man, paralyzed from the neck down for nearly three decades, who struggles against the legal system to win the right to die with dignity. Ramon Sampedro (Javier Bardem), a virile sailor injured in a diving accident in the late 1960s, initiated a court case in the '90s to permit his assisted suicide, distressing many of his family members in the process. Although it could have been a typical heart-tugging Hallmark telefilm, the picture--while emotional and manipulative--is hardly a standard-issue tearjerker. Thanks to its unusual locale, sensitive writing and direction by Alejandro Amenabar, and a truly remarkable performance by Bardem, the film transcends its generic roots to become a powerful human drama. Bardem gives Sampedro astonishing depth and charisma despite the obvious physical restrictions, making him no plaster saint but a complex figure capable of both joy and rage--neither a flawless hero nor a mere victim. Despite the potentially depressing denouement, The Sea Inside ironically seems more life-affirming than not, exceeding viewers' expectations because it dramatizes a complicated personal, moral, and political issue in a satisfyingly multifaceted way. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Alejandro Amenabar, an 85-minute “making-of” featurette, three deleted scenes (7 min.), photo, set design, and storyboard galleries, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a powerful film.] (F. Swietek)