10 Films That Prove Disability Doesn't Hold You Back

7. The Sea Inside (2004)

The Sea Inside is Alejandro Amenábar's follow up to atmospheric chiller, The Others. Like the previous film, The Sea Inside is delicate and careful-handed in its approach to the subject matter, blanketing it in meticulously-crafted emotion and depth. It tells the tale of Ramon Sampedro (Javier Bardem), a quadriplegic who seeks to end his life following a diving accident. It seems an almost impossible reality for somebody to want to end their own life; but the film is excellent in its ability to position viewers in the centre of the debate. Bardem is on top of his game here in a role that would be difficult for the highest-skilled of actors. He is trapped in his body; imprisoned in his biological shell. His every need is attended to by his devoted family; and he serves as the poster child for a human rights group seeking to change the laws in Spain surrounding euthanasia. You may question how this shows disability doesn't hold Sampedro back. The answer is mature and nearly inconceivable unless a person is placed in the same circumstances. He wasn't always paralysed, instead an experienced traveller and a ladies man as the film depicts. Sampedro overcomes the tragedy by campaigning for the right to end his life, with his body is 'already dead' and is nothing more than a hinderance. His right to choose to die is the one thing he has left, and by doing so, he conquers a disability that would entomb him until his demise in his own way. It is a subtle victory, but The Sea Inside analyses the effect the situation has on everybody involved. The film may not show a triumph of the human body, but it depicts the triumph of the human spirit beautifully.