Mar Adentro Essay

Mar Adentro, translating to the sea inside, has a narrative with no equilibrium. It is based on the life of a quadriplegic Spaniard, Ramon Sampedro, who fought a thirty year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. It takes place over a course of a year and can be argued that his death, which was an assisted suicide, presented a new equilibrium since he did get his wish to die in the end. However, it is debatable whether he died with dignity or not, since he was not able to get what he had worked so hard for which was to get euthanasia legalised. This film presents an eager culture that is ready to pass the euthanasia bill, and is the first to show Amenábar’s views on this affair. In a BBC interview, Amenábar had said, “I know the more Javier researched the story, the more he felt we had to tell it to the people. But I was interested in the story itself and the human relationships, feelings and emotions. Ramón 's situation and the book he wrote were very interesting, but we were talking about abstract concepts. So I had very beautiful ideas that he had about death, life and

It takes place in an old, countryside mansion on Jersey. A World War Two widow, Grace, is left to care for her two photosensitive children. She seems to have everything under control, however we learn near the beginning that her gardener, Mr. Tuttle, and housekeeper, Mrs. Mills, have disappeared, and her two children have a disease. These are foreshadowing elements of the darker events that are yet to come in Grace’s life. Amenábar uses German expressionism to tell his story, and although it lacks exaggeration like most expressionism films, he borrows elements such as mirrors, insanity, and dark urban settings. Amenábar uses the idea of a large, empty house to emphasise Graces fear which she holds back through