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| A TIME TO LIVE AND A TIME TO DIE…
A POINT TO MAKE
Javier Bardem plays
quadriplegic Ramón Sampedro.
sea inside
WITH AN ASTONISHING PERFORMANCE BY JAVIER BARDEM
AT ITS CENTRE, THE NEW FILM FROM ALEJANDRO AMENÁBAR, DIRECTOR OF THE OTHERS, IS ABOUT A QUADRIPLEGIC WHO
IS DETERMINED TO DIE. BUT THE FILM ITSELF, THANKS TO A FAULTLESS SUPPORTING CAST, GORGEOUS CINEMATOGRAPHY BY JAVIER AGUIRRESAROBE (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
ON PABLO ALMODÓVAR’S TALK TO HER) AND A SOARING SCORE BY THE DIRECTOR HIMSELF, EMERGES AS A
CELEBRATION OF LIFE. HERE, THOUGH, LIFE IS SEEN -
AS THE CENTRAL CHARACTER PUTS IT - AS “A RIGHT,
NOT AN OBLIGATION”. AMENÁBAR TALKS ABOUT
THE SEA INSIDE, WHICH IS BASED ON THE LIFE OF
RAMÓN SAMPEDRO
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After The Others, why The Sea Inside?
I read Ramón Sampedro’s book a few years ago and I don’t know if it was because it was about death, or if it was the way he expressed himself, but I was absolutely enthralled by how he wrote. I started asking questions of those who’d been close to him, and realised that there were even more reasons than I’d thought for shooting this story. Ramón’s story was definitely worthy of being told.
How much have you changed the facts?
For dramatic fluency, and in order to condense Ramón’s experience into two hours, some characters had to be dispensed with, and others merged together. The character of Julia, for example, is a compendium of several women. One of the things that really struck me about Ramón was that he appeared to have a harem around him. Julia is a single embodiment of the women that fell in love with him when he had already lost the use of his arms and legs. The same can be said about Javi, the character of the nephew in the film, who does have something to do with Ramón’s nephew in real life. But many elements of his nieces were also incorporated into the character. Those changes enable a smoother, more fluent narration.
Given the story, it’s quite surprising to see the sense of humour that runs through the film.
Those who were close to Ramón told me over and over again about his sense of humour. He was capable of laughing at his situation, he was capable of an ironic take on death; he constantly joked with the women around him. But we didn’t want to turn him into the typical funny guy with a joke for every situation. Javier helped a great deal in giving him the right tone, because he also has a great sense of humour, and he understood the man - and the character - perfectly. That’s the contradiction of Ramón: someone so full of life, who got along so well with people, and who so actively pursued his own death. Death is a recurrent theme in my films. The Others was the vision of a family from the dark side, from death. The Sea Inside is a vision of death from life, from the most natural, day-to-day events.
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