The Sea Inside (2004/I) Mar adentro (original title)

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar (screenplay) and
Mateo Gil (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 September 2004 (Italy)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

The real-life story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 30 year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Euthanasia | Freedom | Right To Die | Quadriplegic

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 61 wins & 30 nominations

Cast

Javier Bardem	...	Ramón Sampedro
Belén Rueda	...	Julia
Lola Dueñas	...	Rosa
Mabel Rivera	...	Manuela
Celso Bugallo	...	José
Clara Segura	...	Gené
Joan Dalmau	...	Joaquín
Alberto Jiménez	...	Germán
Tamar Novas	...	Javi
Francesc Garrido	...	Marc
Josep Maria Pou	...	Padre Francisco (as José María Pou)
Alberto Amarilla	...	Hermano Andrés
Andrea Occhipinti	...	Santiago
Federico Pérez Rey	...	Conductor
Nicolás Fernández Luna	...	Cristian
Raúl Lavisier	...	Samuel
Xosé Manuel Olveira 'Pico'	...	Juez 1
César Cambeiro	...	Juez 2
Xosé Manuel Esperante	...	Periodista 1
Yolanda Muiños	...	Periodista 2
Adolfo Obregón	...	Ejecutivo
José Luis Rodríguez	...	Presentador
Julio Jordán	...	Encuadernador
Juan Manuel Vidal	...	Amigo Ramón
Marta Larralde	...	Muchacha Playa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jordi Ballester

Directed by
Alejandro Amenábar

Writing credits
Alejandro Amenábar		(screenplay) and
Mateo Gil		(screenplay)

Produced by
Alejandro Amenábar	....	producer
Fernando Bovaira	....	producer
Emiliano Otegui	....	line producer

Original Music by
Alejandro Amenábar

Cinematography by
Javier Aguirresarobe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alejandro Amenábar

Casting by
Luis San Narciso

Production Design by
Benjamín Fernández

Art Direction by
Benjamín Fernández

Set Decoration by
Emilio Ardura

Costume Design by
Sonia Grande

Makeup Department
James Allen	....	special makeup assistant
Jo Allen	....	special makeup designer
Mara Collazo	....	hair stylist
Chris Fitzgerald	....	sculptor
Manolo García	....	hair stylist
Ana López Puigcerver	....	makeup artist
David Martí	....	special makeup effects artist
Carlos Montosa	....	wigs
Ana Urosa	....	makeup artist

Production Management
José Antonio García Tapia	....	production manager
Emiliano Otegui	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Larisa Balinge	....	assistant director
José Ramón Otegui	....	second assistant director (as Joserra Otegui)
Walter Prieto	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gonzalo Ansó	....	props
Alberto Báez	....	carpenter
Leo Báez	....	construction coordinator
Pedro Calderón	....	painter
Paco Calonge	....	props (as Francisco Calonge)
Manuel Casla	....	carpenter
Carlos Chamorro	....	laborer
Manuel Chamorro	....	carpenter
Salvador Comes	....	painter
Blas Díaz	....	carpenter
Francisco Díaz	....	carpenter
Alejandro Fernández	....	assistant art director
Francisco Fernández	....	carpenter
Antonio Lopez	....	carpenter
Natalia Montes	....	storyboard artist
Rubén Rivas	....	graphic designer
Tino Torrescusa	....	property master
Ana Viana	....	apprentice art director
Juan Ignacio Viñuales	....	props

Sound Department
Susana Benito	....	assistant sound mixer
Ricard Camprodón	....	sound consultant: SDDS
Manuel Cora	....	sound consultant: DTS
Juan Ferro	....	sound editor
Alfonso Raposo	....	sound mixer
Guillermo Solana	....	boom operator
María Steinberg	....	sound editor
María Steinberg	....	sound effects editor
Ricardo Steinberg	....	sound
Ricardo Viñas	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby

Special Effects by
David Campos	....	special effects
Pau Costa	....	special effects supervisor
Giacomo Iovino	....	mold maker
Javier Jal	....	special effects technician
Javier H. Moneo	....	special effects technician
Julio Navarro	....	special effects technician
Raúl Romanillos	....	special effects supervisor
Juan Serrano	....	special effects technician: DDT SFX
Stuart Sewell	....	mold maker

Visual Effects by
Sara Alavés	....	visual effects producer
Nike Alonso	....	visual effects producer
Helmuth Barnert	....	digital compositor
Manuel Barrero	....	digital restoration: Fotofilm Madrid
Félix Bergés	....	visual effects supervisor
Montse Capdevila	....	digital compositor
María Carretero	....	graphic effects artist
Gonzalo Carrión	....	3D infography
Eduardo Díaz	....	digital compositor
Yusef El Khadir	....	3D operator
Juancho Fernández	....	digital compositor
Segundo Fernández	....	digital compositor
Carmen García	....	digital compositor
Vincent Gilot	....	motion control operator
Tim Mendler	....	motion control operator
Matías Nieto	....	time lapse photography
Guillermo Orbe	....	digital compositor
Thorsten Rienth	....	digital compositor
Rubén Sanz	....	visual effects producer
Rafa Solorzano	....	visual effects supervisor (as Rafael Solorzano)
Carlos Trijueque	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Guiomar Alonso	....	stunts
Eugenio Jiménez	....	stunts
Miguel Pedregosa	....	stunt coordinator
Álvaro Quiroga	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Miguel Balanzategui	....	combo operator
Jon Barco	....	apprentice camera (as Jon Barco )
Miguel Ángel Cano	....	electrician
Gustavo de la Fuente	....	assistant camera
Rafael García Martos	....	gaffer
Raúl García	....	assistant camera
José Manuel Herrero	....	underwater camera operator
Josu Inchaustegui	....	Steadicam operator
Josu Inchaustegui	....	second assistant camera
Teresa Isasi	....	still photographer
Carlos Miguel	....	key grip
Juan Ramos	....	Steadicam operator: second unit (as Juan Matías Ramos)
Marcelino San Eugenio	....	electrician
James Swanson	....	aerial director of photography
Alberto Sánchez Beltrán	....	electrician (as Alberto Sánchez)
Anselmo Villalba	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cristina Martínez	....	costume assistant
Cristina Ureña	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
Carlos Agulló	....	assistant editor
Paolo Balestrazzi	....	assistant editor
Felisa Catalinas	....	negative cutter
Yolanda Cáceres	....	color timer
Enrique Domínguez	....	assistant editor
Manuela Díaz	....	post-production: Sogecine
Paulino Fernández Ibáñez	....	telecine
Eladio Fernández	....	post-production: Sogecine
Miguel P. Gilaberte	....	digital intermediate colorist

Music Department
Chris Barrett	....	assistant music engineer
Xavier Capellas	....	orchestrator
Nicholas Cervonaro	....	assistant music engineer (as Nick Cervonaro)
José Luis Crespo	....	music mixer
Álvaro Cruz	....	assistant music engineer
Lucio Godoy	....	music producer
Claudio Ianni	....	orchestrator
Brian Masterson	....	music recording engineer
Carlos Núñez	....	soundtrack collaborator
Orquesta Sinfónica de Radio Televisión Española	....	orchestra
Rubén Suárez	....	assistant music engineer
Gavyn Wright	....	orchestra leader
José Manuel Zapata	....	tenor

Other crew
Pablo Alfaro	....	financial director: Sogecine
Francisco Arnoso 'Pixi'	....	production assistant: Galicia
Antonio Bazaga	....	advisor: Eurimages
Yuyi Beringola	....	script supervisor
Beatriz Bodegas	....	legal assistant: Sogecine
Soledad Cebrián	....	accountant: Sogecine
Eduardo Chapero-Jackson	....	production crew: Sogecine
Urko Errazquin	....	marketing: Sogecine
Fernando Esteban	....	legal department: Sogecine
Marian Fernández	....	production assistant
Luis Ferrón	....	production assistant
Mar Francolí	....	location manager: Galicia
Virginia Galvez	....	production assistant: Barcelona (as Virginia Gálvez)
Nuria Garcia Atienza	....	production crew: Sogecine (as Nuria Gª Atienza)
Rosa Garcia Merino	....	head of publicity
Marga García	....	marketing: Sogecine
Rosa García	....	publicist
Valentín García	....	production assistant: Galicia
Susana Herreras	....	production crew: Sogecine
Lola Liñares	....	production assistant
Javier Martín	....	accountant: Sogecine
José Miguel Mendiola	....	production accountant
César Mendizábal	....	directors apprentice
Eva Muslera	....	production controller: Sogecine
Frédéric North	....	helicopter pilot (as Fred North)
Luc Poullain	....	aerial coordinator
Federico Pérez Rey	....	linguistics consultant: Galician
Carmen Rico	....	production secretary
Noelia Romero	....	accountant: Sogecine
Cecilia Rubio	....	legal department: Sogecine
Francisco Sanchez Ortiz	....	marketing: Sogecine (as Francisco Sánchez Ortíz)
Germán Sela	....	marketing: Sogecine
Eva Soto	....	publicist: Sogecine
Guy Stodel	....	acquisitions executive
Rafael Toba	....	production coordinator
Paul Turcotte	....	location manager: Seychelles
Guillem Vidal-Folch	....	production apprentice: Barcelona
Daniel M. Villalba	....	second production assistant
Simón de Santiago	....	international sales (uncredited)
Daniel Villagomez	....	credits administrator (uncredited)

Thanks
Ramona Maneiro	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Sogepaq (presents)
• Sociedad General de Cine (SOGECINE) S.A.
• Himenóptero
• Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC) (co-production)
• Eyescreen S.r.l. (co-production)
• Televisión Española (TVE) (collaboration)
• Canal+ (collaboration)
• Televisión de Galicia (TVG) S.A. (collaboration)
• Filmanova (collaboration) (as Filmnova Invest)
• Eurimages (supported by)
• Ministerio de Cultura (supported by)

Distributors

• Sogepaq Distribución (2004) (worldwide) (all media)
• Sogepaq (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Fine Line Features (2004) (USA) (all media) (subtitled)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (2005) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• SPI International (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• TOBIS Film (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Toho-Towa (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2005) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Lucky Red (2004) (Italy) (all media)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vidéo (2005) (France) (DVD)
• Warner Sogefilms S.A.

Special Effects

• Efe-X

Other Companies

• Aerial Camera Systems (ACS)  helicopter gyrostabilized camera system
• Air Studios  music recorded at
• Cinetel  electrical equipment
• EPC  camera equipment
• EPC  grip equipment
• El Igloo P.C. S.L.  editing
• Exa S.A.  sound mixing studio
• Falco Ink.  publicity
• Fotosíntesis  still photographies laboratory
• La Coartada  extras casting
• Madrid Film S.A.  film lab
• Red Led  music mixed at
• Tot Models  extras casting

Also Known As:

"Mar adentro" - Spain (original title)
"The Sea Within" - Europe (English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense depiction of mature thematic material

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Spain | France | Italy

Language:

Spanish | Catalan | Galician

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital EX | DTS-ES

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:12A | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | Norway:11 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:7 | Greece:K-13 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

A Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Company:

Sogepaq

Trivia:

Three months before Spanish premiere, Alejandro Amenábar gave a photo to the media to be shown all over the nation to make people get used to Bardem's make-up and forget about it while watching the film to pay attention to his performance.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gené:Relax. You're feeling calmer and calmer. Now imagine a movie screen, opening before you. On it, imagine your favorite place. Concentrate on your breathing, allowing your whole body to relax, to feel at peace. Keep it going. Just let it come and go... come and go... Now you are there. Notice the details: the colors, the textures, the light, the temperature. Feel the temperature. Let this tranquil scene unfold before you. The sensation of peace is infinite.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Prelude to the Act 3

The right to die with dignity

Alejandro Amenabar, the young and talented Spanish director, clearly shows us he is a serious film maker. Anyone doubting it, should have a look at his latest film "The Sea Inside". This is a movie that has been rewarded with numerous accolades, not only in Spain, but throughout the world, wherever this wonderful movie has been shown.

If you have not seen the film, perhaps you would like to stop here.

Ramon Sampedro is a man confined to bed. Being quadriplegic, he depends on the kindness of strangers for everything. Since his accident, Ramon only thinks in one thing alone: how to end his life! This is the moral issue at the center of the story, based on the real Ramon Sampedro's life.

Mr. Amenabar tells the story from Ramon's point of view. There is nothing here that is false or manipulative on his part. After all, he relies on facts that were well known in his country as this case became a "cause celebre" in favor of euthanasia, a theme that no one in that country wanted to deal with in Spain.

With its background of being a predominantly Roman Catholic country, Spain has evolved into one of the most democratic societies in Europe, a distinction that is more notable because of its long years dominated by a dictator. Yet, in spite of the advances in that society, the idea of taking one's own life, is something not clearly understood by the majority of its citizens, who still considered this subject as something that could not be done in their country.

Ramon Sampedro was a man that loved life. He lived an intense life as a young man when he enlisted as a sailor to discover the world. Having no money, this was the only way for him to see other lands, experience other cultures. Ramon's love affair with the sea, is something that people in Galicia learn to love from their childhood. Imagine how that same friendly sea is the one that takes away Ramon's life, as he knew it! In a second, Ramon goes from a vibrant young man into a vegetable!

Ramon's family is shattered by the experience. Suddenly they must leave everything aside to take care of him at home. His brother and sister-in-law, are stoic people that deal with the situation as a matter of fact. Their lives become something of an afterthought, because Ramon's life comes first. They tend to the sick man without protesting, or blaming Ramon for the sacrifices they must make to keep him alive.

That is why, in their minds, the Sampedros can't comprehend Ramon's wishes to end it all. Haven't they given up having a normal life to take care of him? This moral issue weighs heavily on these uncomplicated and simple people because in their minds, they are doing what came naturally.

The second subject of the movie is the legal issue of the euthanasia and the well meaning people that suddenly enter Ramon's life in their desire to help him put an end to his suffering. There's Julia, the lawyer who is herself handicapped and suffers from a rare malady. There is Rosa, the fish cannery worker who becomes infatuated with Ramon.

Javier Bardem, makes a brilliant Ramon Sampedro. His transformation is total. We don't doubt from one moment he is no one else but the paralyzed man on that bed. Mr. Bardem can only use his face in order to convey all the emotions trapped inside Ramon. Mr. Bardem makes this man real. This is perhaps Javier Bardem's best role of his career. He surpasses his own award winning performance as Reynaldo Arenas, the late Cuban poet he portrayed in "Before Night Falls".

In the supporting roles, Belen Rueda, makes an impressive appearance as Julia, the woman fighting her own physical problems. Lola Duenas is also effective as Rosa, the kindred soul that loves Ramon deeply. Celso Bugallo, as Ramon's brother shows a man at a crossroads of his own life. Mabel Rivera makes a compassionate Manuela, the sister-in-law that never asks anything of life, but tends to Ramon without questioning why she has to do it, at all.

Mr. Amenabar also has composed the haunting music score for the film. He is a man that never cease to surprise. One wonders what his next project will be, but one wishes him success in whatever he might decide to do in the future.