Assignment for The Sea Inside: Post 1

Post 1

What is your general reaction and response to the film? What do you think of Ramon's request for assisted suicide, the court's response to him, and his eventual actions? What do you think of his friends who agreed to help him?

My general reaction to the film was that it was very sad. The film was filled with such tragedy and pain not only of Ramon but of his family and friends who support him. Ramon 's desire to die was was killing Ramon's family because they all loved him so much. There are many scenes in the movie that could make you cry. Scenes like when Ramon is saying goodbye to his nephew or when he actually kills himself. There is one scene that I find particularly sad, when Ramon's lawyer speaks to Julia by the beach. Julia is a completely different person than she was before. She doesn't remember anything, not even Ramon and she looks at the lawyer, looking very confused. This to me is very sad because it was so awful how she didn't even remember Ramon who was a huge part of her life and to see the astonished look on the lawyer's face when she realizes that Julia has forgotten Ramon was one of the saddest parts in the movie.

My response to Ramon's request for suicide is that if I was like Ramon I would probably like to die. He puts it very well when he says that living as a quadriplegic is like living without dignity. I don't feel that there is much wrong with his request because he is a smart man and he truly wants to die and has been waiting 28 years to die. I think the court's response to his request was a wrong one. I understand that it was illegal in Spain to commit suicide or assist in suicide but I think if they let Ramon speak they would have let him kill himself. If they would have let him speak they would have found how smart and mentally stable Ramon was and that might have changed the courts eventual decision. I think his eventual actions were a last resort and I think Ramon did his very best to make sure that nobody got sent to jail because of it. I find it very sad how Ramon had to wait in pain for 28 years and that his last resort for suicide was something he could do all along.

I think that his friends that assisted him in suicide did the right thing as friends. They could see that Ramon wanted to die very much and they gave him his wish. I think it was very risky because they could of all gone to jail for a long time.