By Jason Haskins
The Sea Inside was released in 2004 and is based on the true story of Ramon Sampedro--a Spaniard who, after a serious lack of judgment, dove into the ocean in too shallow of water and found himself paralyzed. This movie chronicles his last moments throughout the almost 30 years he fought to have assisted suicide implemented into his case and you'll watch as he finds himself completely loathsome of his situation, trying to get assistance in death, and feeling disconnected from the material world.
As you can imagine, this film is bleak and depressing if there ever was one. A majority of the movie is downright downbeat and delves not only into the issue of assisted suicide, but into suffering in general. This man struggled for the better half of his life in order to get release from his predicament. It's not saying that everyone with disabilities deserves to have their lives snuffed out, but in his case he was genuinely unhappy and the movie dwells on this for all two hours.
Javier Bardem plays the title character, Ramon, and he is almost unrecognizable since Ramon is much older than Bardem and he's covered in a lot of makeup to get the desired results. The makeup was extraordinary because Bardem is a very attractive guy who was aged quite immensely for the performance. We see a few occasions of his true features in flashback modes, but consider this his My Left Foot-ish performance in the way that he throws himself at the character with all of his soul and he does a fantastic job with it. He's very negative (a central theme in the movie), but doesn't take away from the drama of the movie. This isn't a guy lying in bed cursing the living and walkers--he's genuinely in mental anguish yet Bardem's performance is subtle and brilliant.
Alejandro Amenabar directed this and I'd say out of the few films he's done this is by far his most compelling. It truly sets him apart from other Spanish filmmakers and because of his talent, the film garnered a lot of recognition and even won an Academy Award for best foreign film. There are several moments in the film that I thought were exquisitely photographed especially these interesting fantasy parts where the camera is zooming through landscapes at quick speeds.
He captured all of the nuances of the story perfectly without forcing sentiment or pushing a message to make it controversial (though it is by most respects). The movie plays out with a very solid pace, which I found surprising actually given the fact that not a whole lot really happens in this except for character development and tone. It's not fast paced nor is it slow paced--it sits in the middle and burns through itself with a tightness that keeps things interesting and building up the gorgeous story that is taking place.
It's an absolute that most people won't get the charms of this movie and will probably write it off as too depressing (my girlfriend didn't like it because of that) or politically charged, but it really has the best intentions. I found myself legitimately moved at the end of the movie and I was struck with tears at how beautiful everything came together. Bardem's performance is literally one of the best things I've seen onscreen in years and he touched me (as lame as that sounds) in a profound way. There have been a ton of movies that deal with this similar topic, but none have settled in such a dark place for the sum total of the entire film. Consider this one of my top picks of 2004 and one of the best foreign films released.
© Jason Haskins, 2011
5 out of 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment