The Sea Inside

Alejandro Amenabar's extraordinary new film won a staggering 15 Goyas (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars) in every category for which it was nominated, including Best Film, Best Director and all six acting prizes including Best Actor (Javier Bardem).

The Sea Inside is based on the true story of a quadriplegic from Galicia in Spain, who unsuccessfully lobbied for the right to die, then planned his own death with the help of friends and family to ensure that none of them could be charged with his "murder".

Amenabar's film is a fictionalised account of the final months in the life of lawyer Ramon Sampedro (Bardem), who was consigned to his bed for almost 30 years, after a diving accident left him paralysed from the neck down.

Dutifully nursed by his brother Jose (Celso Bugallo), sister-in-law Manuela (Mabel Rivera) and nephew Javi (Tamar Novas), Ramon approaches lawyer Julia (Beln Rueda) to help him mount a legal case to take his own life.

She is suffering from a debilitating, degenerative disease of her own and client and counsel gradually fall in love as Ramon's case captures the imagination of the Spanish public and the country's legal system.

Paradoxically a film about dying that preaches the virtues of living life to the full, Amenabar's tear-jerker manages to avoid film-of-the-week-style cheesy schmaltz and presents a claustrophobic, devastating and ultimately uplifting tale.

The downbeat material is tempered by some deeply impressive acting, culminating in a respectful and highly affecting movie.