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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us May 5, 2005 ‘The Sea Inside’ charts voyage of courage By Chris Honoré Tidings reviewer “The Sea Inside” tells the story of Ramon Sampedro, who, as a young man in his late twenties, dove into a too shallow tide pool and broke his neck. He spent the next quarter of a century paralyzed from the neck down, confined to bed and totally dependent on others to take care of him. For Sampedro it represents 9,125 days of incarceration, a life sentence, trapped in an atrophied body that will never move again. Only in his dreams, in his fantasies, is he able to rise from his bed and leap out of the window, soaring over the verdant hills of Galicia until he reached the ocean, taking in the vast expanse of water, seeing the distant parabola of the horizon. He walks on a long stretch of beach, his feet sinking into the sand, and feels the cold sudsy water around his ankles and then touches the face of a beautiful woman. If only. And so Sampedro, now 55-years-old, makes a deeply personal and controversial decision. One that unsettles those who love and care for him — his brother, his sister-in-law who has devotedly cared for him, his young nephew — as well as all of Spain. He petitions the courts to give him the right to die with dignity, to end his prolonged ordeal. It is a request that engages all who hear of it in debate, including the Catholic Church. Does someone who is otherwise healthy, who will live on for many more years, albeit only because he is cared for by others, have the right to decide to die? Is the individual ultimately in control of his or her life and therefore should be able to choose to live or not? Or should the state be the final arbiter, having determined that suicide is illegal and therefore will prosecute anyone who assists in the ending of a life? “The Sea Inside” addresses these questions with great subtly and nuance. It is a lovely, touching film, the acting pitch perfect. Belen Rueda gives a wonderful performance as Julia, Sampedro’s attorney, who is assisting with the brief to be presented to the court, as does Lola Duenos as Rosa, a mother of two, who falls in love with Sampedro. And at the center of the film is Javier Bardem, an accomplished Spanish actor, who portrays Sampedro with a reserved intensity, using his expressive face to convey emotions that need not be spoken. At no time is the film ever maudlin or manipulative. There is a detachment that allows the events and the issues to unfold gradually, almost quietly, without falling prey to sentimentality. Sampedro was a lovely person who had great humor and sensitivity and honesty, though confronted with an overwhelming reality that would attrit the spirit of most. To move, to rise, to walk to a window, to run across a street, to lift a fork, accept a cup of coffee, to walk in the rain — to do all that is of course mundane and therefore taken for granted. But when that one thing (and then so much more) is snatched away, taken so severely, so finally, is there not a dark and spiraling abyss waiting just beyond? A bleakness beyond measure? How can we ever manage to find the courage to live on or transcend? Sampedro did manage, and the geography of his face says he prevailed. And then he decided that it had been long enough. He wished only to leave his shell of a body and find what? Release? Perhaps. At least from the unremitting struggle. He took that step believing that there was only nothingness on the other side of life. But still he took the journey. “The Sea Inside” stars Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Tomar Novas and Lola Duenas, and is directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Now playing at the Varsity Theatre. A Lot Like Love A guy and a girl keep crossing each other’s paths over a period of seven years, struggling with different partners and careers. Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet, Ali Larter, Taryn Manning PG-13 for sexual content, nudity and language, 107 min. Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids In English and Bengali with English subtitles. Winner of the 2005 Ashland Independent Film Festival Best Documentary Feature Length Winner of the 2004 Academy Award Best Documentary Feature Photojournalist Zana Briski overcame barriers of language and culture when she immersed herself into an impoverished and illegal neighborhood in Calcutta, India. Befriending the children of the Sonagachi (the city’s red light district), she became their teacher and their advocate. The children were given cameras, resulting in beautiful and revealing images that no outsider could capture. Directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman R for some sequences of strong language/85 min. Crash Diving headlong into the diverse melting pot of post-9/11 LA, this urban drama tracks the volatile intersections of a multi-ethnic cast, examining fear and bigotry from multiple perspectives as characters careen in and out of one another’s lives. No one is immune to the simmering rage that sparks violence - and changes lives. Directed by Paul Haggis; Written by Paul Haggis ("Million Dollar Baby") and Bobby Moresco. Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Ludacris, Jennifer Esposito, Ryan Phillippe R for language, sexual content and some violence/100 min. Downfall In German with English subtitles Traudl Junge was hired by Hitler as a secretary in 1942 and was an eyewitness to Hitler's decay in body and mind. This account is based in part on her memory of those final days spent with Hitler and his inner circle inside the bunker beneath Berlin. Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch. R for strong violence, disturbing images and some nudity/155 min. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Earthman Arthur Dent learns his best friend is an alien, and that the earth is about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur's only chance for survival is to hitch a ride on a passing spacecraft. And so begins his great adventure. Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Dante "Mos Def" Smith, Alan Rickman, Zooey Deschanel, Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich. PG for thematic elements, action and mild language/103 min. House of Wax A group of friends fall prey to a sinister plot while passing through a small town. Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton. R for horror violence, some sexual content, and language/110 min. Interpreter A U.N. interpreter overhears a hushed, after hours conversation in the General Assembly Hall. What she hears could topple a government unless she can survive long enough to get someone to believe her. Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn PG-13 for violence, some sexual content and brief strong language, 128 min. Kingdom of Heaven A common man is thrust into the Crusades, serving a doomed king, falling in love with a forbidden queen, rising to knighthood, and protecting Jerusalem from overwhelming forces in this epic adventure from director Ridley Scott ("Gladiator", "Blade Runner"). Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, David Thewlis R for strong violence and epic warfare/145 min . Kung Fu Hustle In Mandarin with English subtitles Stephen Chow’s slapstick martial arts fantasy about a swaggering coward of a bully posing as a member of the terrifying Axe Gang — a bunch of top-hatted, dancing brutes — in order to shake down residents of Pig Sty Alley. This results in an ever-escalating series of outlandish clashes between the gang and Pig Sty’s not-so-ordinary citizens. Written and Directed by Stephen Chow (“Shaolin Soccer”); Starring Stephen Chow, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qui, Leung Siu Lung R for strong stylized action and violence, 99 min. Sea Inside 2 Academy Award Nominations including Best Foreign Language Film The story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Through love, two women are inspired to accomplish things they never previously thought possible. One is a lawyer who supports his cause, the other a local woman who wants to convince him life is worth living. The film celebrates the nature of freedom and love, and the beauty of life. Directed by Alejandro Amenabar ("The Others", "Open Your Eyes"); Starring Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Duenas. PG-13 for intense depiction of mature thematic material/125 min. Shortcut to Nirvana In English and Hindi with English subtitles. Winner Best Documentary Audience Award Sedona Intl Film Festival; Winner Best Documentary Tiburon Intl Film Festival Filmmakers Maurizio Benezzo and Nick Day document what is considered to be the largest gathering of people in the world — estimated at up to 70 million — every 12 years in India, the Kumbh Mela. Devout Hindus and Buddhists mix with curious Westerners and other spiritual seekers. Filmed at the 2001 gathering, this documentary captures incredible sights through the eyes of veterans and novices, gurus and tourists. NR (full nudity), 85 min. XXX: State of the Union Agents must track a military splinter group conspiring to overthrow the U.S. Government. Ice Cube replaces Vin Diesel in this sequel. Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe. PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence and some language/101 min. 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