I think you're referring to "Mar Adentro" (The Sea Inside) , the 2004 Spanish film directed by Alejandro Amenábar.

Mar Adentro (2004): A Poetic Masterpiece on the Right to Die with Dignity

In the pantheon of cinema, few films have dared to tackle the intersection of beauty, suffering, and personal autonomy as profoundly as Mar Adentro (2004). Directed by the acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar, this biopic is not merely a movie; it is a philosophical poem set to film. Based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro, a Spaniard who fought for the right to end his own life after 26 years of quadriplegia, Mar Adentro transcends its controversial subject matter to become a universal meditation on freedom, love, and the human spirit. mar adentro -2004-

: After 30 years confined to his bed, Ramón (played by Javier Bardem) fights a legal and moral battle for the right to end his life with dignity. The Metaphor of the Sea

It had been nearly thirty years since the accident. Thirty years since a wave had snatched him from the shore and dashed him against the sand, robbing him of a body that could move and a life that could breathe without a machine. For thirty years, he had existed in a bed, reading the world through the voices of others and the window that framed his sky. Directed, written, and scored by Alejandro Amenábar, Mar

While the film is grounded in the real-life legal battle of Sampedro, a Galician sailor paralyzed from the neck down, Amenábar steers the narrative away from a courtroom drama and toward a philosophical inquiry. The film poses a fundamental question: In a society that sanctifies life as an absolute value, does the refusal to live constitute a moral transgression or the ultimate assertion of human dignity?

Autonomy and Dignity: The film centers on the philosophical argument that "life is a right, not an obligation," challenging societal and religious views on the sanctity of life versus the quality of life. Based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro,

A Supporting Cast Shines

This dynamic introduces the concept of the "social body." Ramón’s argument for euthanasia is often framed by his opponents as a lack of gratitude for the care he receives. His sister-in-law, Manuela, represents the physical manifestation of love through servitude. The film daringly suggests that Ramón’s desire to die is an act of love toward his family—a release of them from the burden of his care.