The Sea Inside

A Moving Tale

Happiness is not something we can just have, we have to want it. People do different things each day to get just one drop of happiness. Whether they are watching their kids smile, going swimming in the ocean, or eating a chocolate candy bar, that one drop of happiness can make their entire day change. But, for a man like Ramón Sampedro, his drop of happiness for one day would be to just die. He is paralyzed from the neck down and cannot stand it anymore of just sitting in the bed all day. However, since he cannot physically commit suicide himself, he has to go through court and try and get them to do it for him. A few topics emerge and project different themes to the audience, one being that we have the freedom of choice, but how far does freedom of choice go?

First, how does one give in opinion to a film that is so powerful? Whether or not someone liked the film, it does not mean that the movie was not effective. Maybe it was amazing because it got the message out to people in such a strong and sensitive way. But, it was not as good when it got to points that were so depressing. It gave out the message it was trying to give out, and is that not the point of a film? It expressed the pain Ramón, his friends, and his family had to go through day by day in order to keep him alive. Or for Ramón who was trying to end his life in order to finally be free. So, the effectiveness of this movie was definitely there.

In general, every film has literary aspects such as a plot, characters, setting, etc. In “The Sea Inside”, the story takes place in Spain near the ocean. The ocean is a major symbol in this film because the reason Ramón Sampedro lays still inside a bedroom of his sister-in-law’s, Manuela’s, home is because he jumped from a rock and hit his head on the ocean floor. The sea also represents freedom because when he he uses his imagination, the sea tends to be a place he goes. Manuela’s husband and son, Javi, and Ramón’s father also help take care of him. Rosa, who is a woman with two children, has no husband, and works in the canning factory, becomes interested in Ramón and goes to visit him quite often. Julia, is his lawyer and is determined to help Ramón get what he wants through the court. Even though all of these people are surrounding him with love him and want him to live, he sticks to his own word and still wants to die. Ramón should have the right to choose whether he wants to die or not, but with the laws in Spain, it is difficult for him to get what he wants.

In addition to literary aspects, the film obviously also had cinematic aspects. The photography in the movie varied completely. For example, an extreme close-up of Ramón’s eyes and then the camera zooms out to a close-up of his face to show his complete emotion when people are telling him what he can and cannot do. Also, the camera movement helped to put us in the film at times. Like when he was imagining he was flying and the camera was tracking in the sky like it was us who were flying. Most of the scenes were edited with cut-out or fade-out transitions. However, when the letter was being read, the scenes would dissolve into one another to give it a smooth flow. And, in the movie there was not a lot of music, but when it was playing it seemed to be soft and up-lifting. Even though it was in Spanish, the way the instruments played and the emotion in Ramón’s face helped expressed the inspiration coming from the film. With cinematic aspects added together with the literary aspects, it helped pull the movie together and make it easier to feel like we were there with them.

Clearly, Ramón Sampedro in the movie “The Sea Inside” can relate and differ from Jean- Dominique Bauby’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”. One way they relate is that they are both trapped, and they know that there is nothing they can do about it. But, in a way that they differ is how trapped they are. Ramón can speak, move his head, and hear well, where as Jean can only blink his eye and can barely hear at all. It is weird to think though that in the movie Ramón expresses how he wanted to die more than anything, and in the book Jean did not really say much about wanting to die. Jean was giving up, but he never officially had. Also, the book was more about Jean’s past life instead of himself in the present. When, in the movie it was mostly all about Ramón’s life at the time. Movie’s and books can be similar and can differ, but it is our choice on which one we prefer that connects us better to the main character(s).

In conclusion, this film is a great one for people to see. It really shows the characters emotions and allows us to be part of the film. The only minor problem with it is that it is in Spanish, so we have to read subtitles. But, with it being in a different language it allows us to connect to people from different backgrounds and see how they handle these types of situations and compare it to ours. In Ramón’s view, it helps us see the difficulties of not being able to move and to die would give him the freedom to live again. And, in his family’s view, for him to stay alive to show all of the love they have for him. There is no doubt losing somebody is a hard thing, especially when it’s suicide. But, think how much people, who cannot move a single finger, would be better off when they are doing what they ever want in a better place where they can just be free.