Saturday, May 13, 2006

Mar adentro (2004/I)

U.S. Title: The Sea Inside 
Synopsis: A tetraplegic man fights for the right to die. 
Appraisal: I guess I will go against the current here and say I did not like this film much. The problem is, and I am becoming a little repetitive on this argument but what can I do, it's a repetitive situation, as I was saying the problem is, when a "serious" or "polemic" theme is addressed on a film, most people seem to become blind regarding the film's real merits. They will instantly embrace a mediocre work just so they don't get tagged as reactionary or alienated or insensitive. In my opinion this is the case here. As much as I sympathize with the ideas advocated by the film, the actual experience of watching it was not pleasant for me, and that is not because I found it too morbid or too depressing, but rather because it is too conventional for my taste. While some people may think that flying through the fields to the sound of 'Nessun dorma' is the apex of cinematic achievement, I think it is just a convenient cliché for middle-of-the-road filmmakers. Just a final remark: the correct English translation for the title of this movie is actually not "The Sea Inside" but "Into the Sea". 
Rating: 49

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