a i expect would happen and too many review of this film ( from professional and amateur alike ) have focus a much if not more on the film ideology . that because the sea inside ( aka mar adentro ) be a film about euthanasia . specifically and it a true story about an infamous galician name ramón sampedro and who fight for many year for the right to assist suicide and who be deny that right by the spanish constitutional court and and who well and i do not want to ruin the end of the film for you . the real life sampedro catalyze a national debate on euthanasia in spain . now with producer or director or writer or composer or editor alejandro amenábar ( abre los ojos and 1997 and and the others and 2001 ) biopic and the sea inside and another rhetorical aid have be provide in the international debate on this hot button issue . but a i keep say ( to deaf ear . ) and your opinion and pro or con and on the film ideology shouldn not affect your rating of the film . youre not suppose to be rating the philosophical or political message that amenábar want to make . youre suppose to be rating the film and a a film . maybe that a bit too idealistic and a none of u can likely completely divorce our evaluation from our ideological bias and but idealistic or not and that the goal . so forget about the philosophical and political issue for a moment . a a film and amenábar have turn in one of his most elegant and mature work to date . he do not focus on societal debate . he do not focus on sampedro legal or political struggle . he focus on sampedro a a man and live out his day confine to a bed in his brother home . sampedro and play here in an amazing performance by javier bardem and be a quadriplegic . a the film begin and he have be a quadriplegic for 26 year . that condition be bring about and a amenábar show u through marvelously shot flashback and by a diving accident sampedro be distract by a beautiful woman and miscalculate the water and dove in and snap his neck and and almost drown . a a quadriplegic he eventually begin write poetry and some of which be publish in a book entitle cartas desde el infierno ( letter from hell ) while in real life sampedro book become a best seller in spain . perhaps take sampedro artistic work a a cue and amenábar have create an elegantly poetic film . most of the sea inside be set inside sampedro bedroom . the focus in these scene be bardem complex and sublime performance . a a quadriplegic and bardem be limit to move his head and talk . he have master subtle change of expression and inflection to convey a deep character with a multifaceted and intellectual approach to life . bardem and amenábar have sampedro often wax philosophical in understated speech and but there always a combination of a wicked sense of humor and passion for the aesthetic include music and woman and and a sadness and even occasionally bitterness not far below the surface . different underlying emotion occasionally break through like wave on the skin of the ocean . the people sampedro interacts with most frequently facilitate this in complex way . these others include his sister in law and manuela ( mabel rivera ) and who have be his chief caretaker since sampedro accident while his brother and josé ( celso bugallo ) and who be one of the vocal objector to sampedro wish to die and and with whom there be an underlie unresolved issue ( it seem like maybe josé be the one to save sampedro from drown . ) while his nephew and javier ( tamar nova ) and who be perhaps the most understanding towards him while a right to die advocate and gené ( clara segura ) while a pro bono lawyer and julia ( belén rueda ) and whom he want because she have a degenerative disease and cadasil ( cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarct and leukoencephalopathy ) and and would thus by more empathic and and who he fall in love with while and rosa ( lola dueñas ) and a local woman who work at a cannery and moonlight a a dj and who hear about him from the medium and who want to convince him to desire to live and and who fall in love with him . the bulk of the film consist of these character interact with sampedro in his room . there be also a few other ancillary character and include sampedro father and who remain oddly distant and and a notorious and medium conscious priest and padre francisco ( josé maría pou ) and who do his best to change sampedro mind via philosophy or theology ( in a scene often mistakenly characterize a comic it have an attendant comic element and but the scene be primarily very serious ) . that most of the film take place in sampedro room ingeniously give the couple significant change in set great impact . sampedro room have a nice and big window and which he say he be satisfied with a an observation point on the world . maybe even more importantly and he regularly imagine the window a a launching pad through which he fly across the hillside to the ocean and which he always love and and which have be the most influential force in his life it provide his living when he be young and take his mobility away . amenábar give u a fantastical sequence of sampedro imagine one of his flight to the sea . it be beautifully shot and with low angle ( presumably from a helicopter ) of the hill rushing by and until we follow a stream to the wide open ocean and which in this film represent freedom and the infinite and and natural force . the other significant change of set arrives with sampedro finally take to a wheelchair ( he otherwise refuse them and say they mock his immobility ) to make an appearance in court to help plead his case . amenábar give u a poignant and melancholy travelogue and shot subjectively and of sampedro view life and the world in action from the car window . whether you agree with legalize euthanasia or not and it difficult to deny that this be a well act and well script and well construct film . you may not believe that it a ten ( and that even more unlikely if you disagree with legalize euthanasia ) and but it still worth watch a a fine example of artistic and sophisticated film making .