In theaters

THE SEA INSIDE, directed by Alejandro Amenabar, written by Amenabar and Mateo Gil, 125 minutes, rated PG-13. In Spanish with English subtitles.

In Alejandro Amenabar’s provocative, moving drama, “The Sea Inside,” Javier Bardem gives an Academy Award-nominated performance as Ramon Sampedro, a middle-aged quadriplegic who has lived 28 years beyond the day he believes he should have been allowed to die.

That day was spent diving high above the sea on the cliffs of his hometown in Spain. It ended with Ramon, distracted by the sight of a pretty girl, diving into the sea as the tide was roiling into retreat. Upon entry, Ramon struck his head on the seafloor and broke his neck, leaving him unable to feel or use his arms, torso and legs.

Now, having lived nearly three decades without the ability to move anything other than his head, the steadfast Ramon is pushing hard to be rid of the body he feels has imprisoned him.

He wants to die. Problem is, those who love him and take care of him – his older brother, Jose (Celso Bugallo), his sister-in-law, Manuela (Mabel Rivera), his nephew, Javi (Tamar Novias), his father, Joaquin (Joan Dalmau) – want him to live.

And if they want him to live, then how is Ramon going to die without their help? Through legislation? Fat chance. When it comes to euthanasia, Spain isn’t exactly handing out lethal combinations of pills for the asking.

Making matters more difficult for Ramon is that the Catholic Church has publicly intervened with a quadriplegic priest who is outraged that Ramon believes his life isn’t worth living. The priest argues that since he himself has led a productive life while confined to a wheelchair, certainly Ramon can do the same.

Likely he could – obviously he could – but should he be forced to do so? Or, as Ramon argues, should he be allowed to do what he wants with his own body? That’s the ethical dilemma steaming at the film’s center, with Ramon meeting two women along the way – the ailing lawyer Julia (Belen Rueda) and the blindly in love Rosa (Lola Duenas) – who are his best chances for the death he craves.

Based on a true story, “The Sea Inside” is unabashedly romantic, particularly in scenes that depict how Ramon has survived his condition through leaps of fantasy. When he can, he escapes his body by imagined flights through his bedroom window and into the open air beyond, where he flies over the sea that betrayed him, soars above mountaintops he can’t climb, blasts through cities he no longer can walk through.

Some will argue that it’s a bit much, particularly since Amenabar layers “Nessun dorma,” of all arias, over the visuals. But in this context and with this performance by Bardem, it’s nevertheless powerful and effective. You can’t watch the movie passively. Just try getting through it with a dry eye.

Though some might consider the movie to be a commentary on quadriplegia, “The Sea Inside” is really a film about personal choice and control over one’s life. It will elicit anger in some, compassion in others. Its ending will render its audience still.

Grade: A-

On video and DVD

SHARK TALE, directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron and Rob Letterman, written by Letterman and Michael Wilson, 92 minutes, rated PG.

After you’ve had “Finding Nemo” on your plate, the last thing you want is a weak second course to finish the meal. Shark sounds interesting, but if you’re going to serve it, it better have bite and it better be memorable. Otherwise, people will leave the table disappointed.

That’s just the case with “Shark Tale,” a colorful, jive-talking minnow that runs in shallow waters, with most of its inspiration coming not from its own imagination, but by borrowing liberally from a clutch of other movies.

Steeped in racial, gender, sexual and ethnic stereotypes, the film is a collision of two stories. First, there’s Oscar (voice of Will Smith), a Whale Wash attendant hoping to move on up to a better life with girlfriend Angie (Renee Zellweger), when a gambling debt with his boss, the pufferfish Sykes (Martin Scorsese), gets in the way.

Second is Lenny, a closeted great white shark who lives in fear of his menacing father, Don Lino (Robert De Niro), who wants Lenny to toughen up. When Lenny’s brother, Frankie (Michael Imperioli), is accidentally killed by an anchor, Oscar senses an opportunity. If he takes the credit for Frankie’s death, he’ll be rewarded with fame and fortune in his reef community, which fears sharks. It’s a situation to which Lenny readily agrees to allow to unfold – so long as Oscar allows Lenny to live out the rest of his life as a peaceful dolphin.

With its theme secured (“There’s danger in being something you aren’t, kids”), “Shark Tale” swims with it. What it finds along the way is a story that begins well and which sports fine animation. Still, parts are parts, and “Shark Tale” is made up of too many of them to suit. This isn’t so much a movie for kids as it is a movie for adults, who will smile at the references they know all too well from the slew of movies it emulates.

Grade: B-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, and are archived at RottenTomatoes.com. He may be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.

THE VIDEO-DVD CORNER

Renting a video or a DVD? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

Alien vs. Predator – B

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – B+

The Bourne Supremacy – B

Catwoman – B-

Cellular – B+

The Cookout – C-

The Clearing – C+

Collateral – B+

Dawn of the Dead – A-

The Day After Tomorrow-B

De-Lovely – B

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – B

Elf – B+

Ella Enchanted – B

Envy – D

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – A-

Fahrenheit 9/11 – A-

The Forgotten – D

Friday Night Lights – B+

The Grudge – D-

Hero – B+

I, Robot – B+

Kill Bill Vol. 2 – B

King Arthur – B

The Manchurian Candidate – B+

Man on Fire – B

Maria Full of Grace – A

Mean Girls – B+

Napoleon Dynamite – B+

The Notebook – B+

Open Water – A-

Paparazzi – D-

Ray – A

Shall We Dance? – B

Shark Tale – B-

Shaun of the Dead – B+

Shrek 2 – B

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow – A-

Spider-Man 2 – A

The Stepford Wives – C

Super Size Me – C-

The Terminal – D

The Triplets of Belleville-A

Troy – C-

The Village – D+