The Sea Inside
User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 52
  3. Negative: 3 out of 52

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  1. RegOz
    Apr 5, 2012
    9
    Touching, powerful, intense....Amenabar does it again! This is not just a movie about solitude, it is also a movie about courage, integrity and friendhsip. I am fluent in both languages (English and Spanish). It is great in both...better in teh original of course...the subtitles are never the same, but its beauty trascends the barrier of the language, anyway!
  2. LizB.
    Jun 9, 2007
    10
    Brilliant and subtle; so many layers of meaning for multiple watchings; profound.
  3. Barna
    Dec 25, 2005
    10
    A very moving story, perfectly crafted from all angles.
  4. GailJ.
    Jun 27, 2005
    9
    I always like Javier Bardem but this movie made me a real fan. What I loved about him was how lovable and sexy he was even though he was bed-ridden.
  5. Stephen
    May 22, 2005
    10
    How can someone this young (Amenabar is still under 40) make a film this good?
  6. JeanneB.
    May 20, 2005
    9
    A poignant story that touches the heart and mind. The movies gets us to question our feelings about life and our own inevitable death. The acting is sincere, natural and real. Even if you don't agree with Ramon's choice, you can empathize with his plight.
  7. JohnF.
    May 6, 2005
    10
    I speak Spanish and found this film extremely moving and beautiful in its original language. I heard about Sampedro inthe SpanishLanguage Audio Magazine Puerta del Sol, Volume X, 1 several years ago. One of the greatest movies I have ever seen!
  8. DiegoA.
    Mar 20, 2005
    10
    A fantastic story. It is perfectly acted and beautifully directed, it was wonderfull how they make the audience feel the sadness and nostalgia of the character.
  9. olen.
    Mar 1, 2005
    9
    Good theeme.
  10. Louis
    Mar 1, 2005
    10
    A great film.
  11. JeffL.
    Feb 24, 2005
    10
    The wonderful Spanish actor Javier Bardem (Oscar nominee for Before Night Falls and a supporting player in Collateral) gives an astonishing performance in this affecting, thoughtful, elegantly directed drama, based on real events, about Ramon Sampedro, a man who has been confined to his bed since a diving accident left him a quadriplegic 28 years earlier. Although he has all his mental faculties, and is well cared for by a loving family and friends, Ramon wishes to be allowed to die. He feels he lives a life without dignity or autonomy, and even refuses the use of a wheelchair, believing it would give him only a parody of the true freedom he desires. Unlike A Certain Other Movie dealing with euthanasia, The Sea Inside gets you to side with Ramon's decision not because he is in obvious discomfort or misery, but because only Ramon should have the right to decide if his quality of life is something he can live with. On the contrary, Ramon outwardly has much to live for; he is much loved by his family and friends, has many well-wishers, and is otherwise in good health. He is also intelligent, wickedly funny, and quick with a warm-hearted smile. It breaks our heart that such a man would wish to die, yet we also understand and feel for his plight. As brilliant as Bardem is (and I think he was just as robbed at Oscar nomination time as Paul Giamatti), I was even more touched by the story of Julia (Belen Rueda), Ramon's lovely lawyer and friend, who enjoys a flirtatious relationship with him even as she deals with her own battle with a debilitating disease. A beautifully rendered film, which is both highly entertaining and inspiring despite the seemingly grim subject matter.… Expand
  12. MarkB.
    Feb 23, 2005
    9
    Given that Alejandro Amenabar's film deals with a gentleman who became a quadriplegic due to a freak accident and has spent nearly the last three decades of his life seeking people or legal precedents to help him commit suicide, the miracle here is not only that it's not too difficult or depressing to watch, but instead is, rather shockingly, one of 2004's most entertaining, engrossing...and, weirdly enough, uplifting movie experiences! A second miracle is Javier Bardem's breathtakingly droll, touching and thoroughly convincing turn as Ramon Sampedro (with a special nod to the spectacular makeup work that so subtly but completely transforms the handsome young actor with a panache that Rick Baker and Stan winston can only look on with envy.) Bardem is so good, in fact, that it's a real compliment to the utterly lovely performance by Belen Rueda and the completely charming one by Lola Duenas, playing two women in his life, that they aren't at all overshadowed by him. Bardem clearly deserved a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and I assume that only the relative difficulty in getting one for a role in a foreign language stopped him, especially since Oscar normally loves actors who age several decades and/or have physical disabilities. Amenabar should've gotten one too, for that matter; he stages, films and edits a movie in which at least 60% of it seemingly occurs in one room with more fluidity and imagination than some directors of epics who have the entire world as their stage. Much debate has occurred recently in various circles concerning the ethics of what Sampedro wants to do, and it's clear that, unlike other recent films dealing with quadroplegia and euthanasia, The Sea Inside is a piece of advocacy filmmaking that not only defends its main character's decision, but glorifies and romanticizes it. I'm not certain at this point in my life just how I feel about assisted suicide; I'm as thankful as anyone else for how much society gained because Christopher Reeve DIDN'T succumb to his darkest impulses, and in a debate I could use substantial evidence from the film itself to disagree with the protagonist's decision. He's not on life support, nor is he in unbearable physical pain (in fact, the script repeatedly mentions that he has no feeling at all below the neck). He's clearly a brilliant writer and inventor with much to contribute; he's loved by family in friends in ways and degrees that some of us can only hope to be; and some of his stances--his refusal to use a wheelchair, for example--are just plain stubborn, bullheaded and foolish. I'm certainly not in the position to argue with certain advocacy groups for the disabled who have condemned The Sea Inside for presumably communicating that it's better to be dead than disabled, although I don't think that's the film's message at all. However, certain religious and political commentators who have trashed the film wholesale are committing the sin of presumption because, unlike the movie's quadriplegic priest (whose debate with Sampedro is a surprising comic highlight) they've never experienced themselves what Sampedro has endured. neither have I, and since I haven't spent almost 30 years in bed in Sampedro's socks, I'm not going to attempt or pretend to fully understand his feelings or to pass judgment on him, and it occurs to me that to do otherwise is to do the very thing that some of the film's opponents have accused Sampedro and his supporters of...namely, playing God.… Expand
  13. AnnieS.
    Feb 22, 2005
    10
    I was embraced by the character, great acting from all.
  14. AncsonS.
    Jan 31, 2005
    10
    It's the most important Spanish film in the history. I think this film is exactly beautiful and can be one of the five's best film in the world.
  15. Daniella
    Jan 27, 2005
    10
    From the moment he started to fly, I did not stop crying. What in the first five minutes I feared would be a two hour sermon, became instead a two hour poem.
  16. danielfromspain
    Jan 25, 2005
    10
    From spain ten points to the sea inside (mar adentro) the best film I have ever seen (la mejor pelicula que he visto) and the oscar goes to......the sea inside from alejandro amenabar.
  17. neco
    Jan 19, 2005
    10
    Interesting theme between incredibles landscapes of Galicia and a fantastic interpretation of each character specially by the fact of talk in Galician in some cases.
  18. GeorgeB.
    Jan 15, 2005
    10
    The best movie I have ever seen. Bardem´s perfomance is terrific. I recommed "The sea inside" to all open mind people who want to see a different point of view of living.
  19. ManuE.
    Jan 12, 2005
    10
    Un regalo para la vista y para los oidos.
  20. RaúlG.
    Jan 12, 2005
    10
    Amenabar is perfect as always.
  21. Janina
    Jan 6, 2005
    9
    Poetic, moving; superb acting; actors and setting look real.
  22. L.Bishop
    Dec 20, 2004
    9
    Just a masterpiece!
  23. DarL.
    Dec 19, 2004
    9
    I´ve read someone saying that the movie doesnt accomplish what It tries to do, cause at the end you feel so much simpathy for Bardem´s character that you don´t want him to die... IMO, that is what makes the movie so great. Instead of going the easy way, and showing the torments of a tortured soul in all its bleakness, "The sea inside" states that life can be amazing and beautiful and worthwile even in the worst conditions, but if someone has decided that he doesn´t want to go on, we should respect that, specially in Ramon Sampedro´s case. … Expand
  24. RoJ.Y
    Dec 18, 2004
    10
    A masterpiece. Bardem is the best! and i love the music.
  25. JohnnyG.A.
    Dec 17, 2004
    10
    A masterpiece. A sublime Javier Bardem.
  26. D.Damions
    Dec 15, 2004
    9
    Intense & honestly engaging. This film easily takes us on a journey of raw emotions, it's certainly a realistic slice of life. Supurbly acted & well crafted, this movie is delicious.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Bennett
    90
    The result is a film both poetic and profound.
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  2. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    The Sea Inside is uplifting. This is a movie that may cause viewers to both laugh and cry.
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Holland
    100
    A dramatic triumph.
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