"Mar adentro" ("The Sea Inside") chronicles the twilight years of a man whose charisma brings unparalleled joy to all those around him but whose unhappiness leads him on a 30-year crusade to end his life. The film is about the beauty and richness of a life whose plot revolves around death.
Based on the true story of a brilliant, suffering and sometimes bitter paraplegic, Alejandro Amenábar's latest film is as enigmatic as it is beautiful.
A talented young writer, composer and director in his early thirties, Amenábar ("The Others" and "Abre los ojos" ["Open Your Eyes]) managed to steal the precious honor of winning the most Goyas ("Spanish Oscars") for one film from Spain's most revered filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar ("Todo sobre mi madre" ["All About My Mother] and "Habla con ella" ["Talk to Her"]).
More than a quarter century after the day on which he believes he should have died, paraplegic and euthanasia activist Ramón Sampedro (Javier Bardem of "Before Night Falls" and "The Dancer Upstairs") is fighting not for the right to live his life, but against the obligation to. Disabled in the aftermath of a dive from a cliff at the beach, Sampedro is left to the haunting beauty of the sea inside his own mind and to pursue his romance with the waves only as a dream.
Filled by his tragedy with a deep and abiding understanding for the beauty in life we all take for granted, Sampedro's poetic view of the world fills all those around him, winning him the admiration of a nation, a following of friends and the unlikely love of more than one beautiful woman. The more we fall for the courage of his convictions and the portrait of his brilliance, the more tragic, as well as righteous, his cause becomes.
The film's greatest strength is the artistic genius and total unification of Amenábar's vision. As writer, director producer and composer. Amenábar combines haunting melodies, vivid lighting, beautifully textured dialogue and subtle acting to paint a portrait of a uniquely poetic and beautiful man.
Accentuating all the gorgeous details of life we take for granted through the eyes of a man from whom they have been taken, the film takes an amazingly uplifting and life-affirming tone, teaching us to appreciate the beauty we have rather than merely empathize with the tragedy of its denial.
Though it is only playing at the Montgomery cinemas, this film is worth the drive or at least a strong dose of anticipation for its video release. If you are willing and able to make the 10 minute trek up Route 206, the film shows at 2, 4:30, and 7 p.m. every day of the week and again at 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays for $8.
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