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(About Our Ads) "THE SEA INSIDE" (2004) (Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild None *Moderate Moderate None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None None Mild Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate Mild Heavy Heavy Moderate QUICK TAKE: Subtitled Drama: A Spanish quadriplegic, who's been bedridden for nearly thirty years, sets out to end his life whether legally or with the covert help of others. PLOT: Twenty-six years ago, Ramón Sampedro (JAVIER BARDEM) was a dashing young man with a beautiful girlfriend and a job as a boat mechanic that allowed him to see the world. A diving accident, however, resulted in a broken neck, leaving him as a quadriplegic. Not wanting to suffer what he claims is the indignity of using a wheelchair, Ramón spends almost all of his time in bed, cared for by his sister-in-law Manuela (MABEL RIVERA) and nephew Javi (TAMAR NOVAS). After all of the intervening time to contemplate his state, Ramón has decided he wants to die, much to the dismay of his older brother José (CELSO BUGALLO) and their elderly father Joaquín (JOAN DALMAU). With the aid of right-to-die advocate Gené (CLARA SEGURA), Ramón meets disabled lawyer Julia (BELÉN RUEDA) and her assistant Marc (FRANCESC GARRIDO). As she begins working on his case, Ramón's story on TV brings various other people into his life. There's Father Francisco (JOSÉ MARÍA POU), a quadriplegic priest who wants to show that there's still a reason to live, while laid-off factory worker, part-time deejay and single mom Rosa (LOLA DUEÑAS) wants to feel better about herself by trying to convince him to live. Despite their intentions and the women falling for him, they can't change Ramón's mind. With the aid of Julia and others, he does what he can to convince everyone that the best option for him is to die with dignity. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Older teens might be interested in it, but the topic and the fact that it's subtitled will likely cause most others to pass. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For intense depiction of mature thematic material. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JAVIER BARDEM plays a former ship's mechanic who's been a bedridden quadriplegic for nearly 30 years following a diving accident. Now ready to die, he tries various ways to make that happen, although he's far from completely downbeat. He also smokes a few times. BELÉN RUEDA plays a lawyer with a degenerative condition who agrees to help Ramón battle his legal case and ends up befriending the man. LOLA DUEÑAS plays a local, unemployed woman who initially wants to help Ramón in order to feel better about herself, but eventually becomes his friend. She briefly uses some profanity. MABEL RIVERA plays Ramón's sister-in-law who cares for him. CELSO BUGALLO plays her husband, Ramón's older brother who doesn't think it's right that Ramón wants to die. CLARA SEGURA plays the right-to-die organizer who introduces Julia to Ramón and then becomes involved with her assistant, Marc. JOAN DALMAU plays Ramón's father who's resigned that his son will succeed in his wish to die. TAMAR NOVAS plays Ramón's nephew who helps with caring for him but isn't always happy to be assigned projects with his grandfather. FRANCESC GARRIDO plays Julia's assistant who accompanies her on the lawyer's visits to Ramón. JOSÉ MARÍA POU plays a quadriplegic priest who visits Ramón and tries to convince him to live. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this drama that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "s" word (in subtitles), with only a handful of other expletives and colorful phrases being uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, a man runs his hand down inside a woman's shirt in a sensuous fantasy, while a quadriplegic is briefly seen in just an adult diaper, and some dogs are seen graphically mating in passing. Thematic material involves that quadriplegic wishing to end his life but needing assistance from some outside person (that includes related legal proceedings). A flashback shows a bad diving accident where the person's neck is broken and they nearly drown, while we see a person react to purposefully drinking a poisonous concoction to end their life. Those scenes may be unsettling for some viewers and they and/or others may find that desire to die as having a bad attitude (while others bad attitudes are present). That death wish leads to various tense family moments, while various characters drink and/or smoke. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Marc and Gené have wine. Ramón's family has wine with dinner. Miscellaneous people have drinks. Miscellaneous people have champagne in a flashback. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Some viewers may see Ramón as having a bad attitude for wanting to end his life. Javi occasionally has a bad attitude toward his grandfather, calling him senile and saying "who needs him?" Ramón then tells the boy that someday he'll hate himself for saying that. Rosa initially comes to Ramón in order to induce some meaning into her life (through his state), but eventually befriends and falls for him. A man comes on to Rosa on the street and does some unwelcome kissing (no dialogue in that scene). Some viewers might not like some jabs that Ramón makes at the church (such as burning people at the stake, etc.). Julia reneges on her promise to help Ramón end his life (in a non-legal fashion). Some viewers might not like Ramón's opinion that there isn't anything after death. FRIGHTENING SCENES We see a flashback of young Ramón diving into a shallow sea (as the waves went out) and smacking his head on the sea floor (breaking his neck). We then see him floating face down in the water for a few moments until someone pulls him out. Later, we see another flashback image of young Ramón floating face down in the sea after the diving accident. Julia collapses on some steps (from her medical condition) and Ramón tries to figure out what happened to her (she had a stroke). A man purposefully drinks some liquid mixed with potassium cyanide (to commit suicide). We see his reaction that grows from some discomfort to increased pain, etc. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Jerk," "Damn right" and "What the hell am I doing here?" A man purposefully drinks some liquid mixed with potassium cyanide (to commit suicide). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "s" word, 3 damns, 1 hell and 1 use each of "For God's sakes" and "God" (in subtitles). SEX/NUDITY Ramón jokes that he can see through a woman's skirt. We see what's presumably an adult diaper covering Ramón's crotch area as we see a full shot of him (otherwise naked) wearing just that on TV. We briefly see Marc and Gené passionately kissing (clothed) on a bed. Julia makes a comment to Ramón that there are other ways to make love. She then figures out that he gave up love because he "can't love" (presumably meaning sex). In a fantasy sequence, Ramón and Julia passionately kiss at the beach. We see Ramón listening at Gené's pregnant and bare belly. Ramón tells Julia that it's her smell that's the first thing he notices when he fantasizes about her. We then see an imagined bit where he runs his hand down inside her shirt and the two then passionately kiss (in close-up). We then see Julia kissing him in real life. We see Julia's bare back as she sits in a bathtub. We briefly see a graphic view of two dogs mating. After Rose tells Ramón to give her a sign if there's life after death, he jokes that he'll come to her in bed and "we'll make love." SMOKING Ramón and Julia each smoke several times. Julia asks Ramón if he smokes. He jokes that he does every once in a while in case it will kill him. Ramón states that he wants a cigarette. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Javi occasionally has a bad attitude toward his grandfather, calling him senile and saying "who needs him?" Ramón then tells the boy that someday he'll hate himself for saying that. Rosa admits that she split from her husband and is raising her two kids. José is mad at Ramón over his wish to die. Ramón's father is mad at Javier, telling him he won't see his uncle again, and that the only thing worse than your kid dying is him wanting to die. We see a brief scene (with no dialogue) of Julia and her husband arguing. As Ramón prepares to embark on a journey where he hopes to end his life, he says good-bye to his various family members, leading to plenty of tense family moments. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Assisted suicide and the desire to die when the belief is that life is no longer worth living. Paralysis and living in such a state. Rosa initially comes to Ramón in order to induce some meaning into her life (through his state), but eventually befriends and falls for him. The fact that Julia is afraid of the future as she asks what's the point if another stroke could strike her. Strokes and the rehabilitation process following one. Julia decides that she's going to kill herself (due to her degenerative disease). The religious and other aspects of arguing such a legal case about assisted suicide. VIOLENCE We see a flashback of young Ramón diving into a shallow sea (as the waves went out) and smacking his head on the sea floor (breaking his neck). We then see him floating face down in the water for a few moments until someone pulls him out. A man purposefully drinks some liquid mixed with potassium cyanide (to commit suicide). We see his reaction that grows from some discomfort to increased pain, etc. Reviewed November 15, 2004 / Posted December 17, 2004