The Secret Life of Words (2005)
Listen to the sound of silence . .
| Directed by | Isabel Coixet |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Pedro Almodóvar Esther García |
| Written by | Isabel Coixet |
| Starring | Sarah Polley Tim Robbins Julie Christie |
| Music by | Hal Hartley |
| Cinematography | Jean-Claude Larrieu |
| Editing by | Irene Blecua |
| Distributed by | Monopole-Pathé |
| Release date(s) | 2005-10-21 |
| Running time | 115 min. |
| Country | Spain, Ireland |
| Box office | $6,410,058 (INT) |
Plot
Taciturn, partially deaf Hanna (Polley) is a Yugoslavian native working in a factory in Northern Ireland.
She is forced to take a vacation by her boss, who tells her that her
co-workers have been offended by her lack of socializing. After
overhearing a conversation about a need for a nurse, she takes on a job
as private nurse for burn victim Josef (Robbins). He is bedridden on an
offshore oil rig after a fire on the rig, and has severe burns and is temporarily blinded. The rig is not operational awaiting an investigation, and few people remain on board.
Hanna talks very little, and especially does not want to talk about
herself. Despite his pain, Josef is constantly making jokes, some of
them humorous sexual advances. Hanna's care for him includes holding the
urinal and washing his entire body. As they get closer, they start
sharing their experiences. Unbeknownst to him, she listens over and over
again to a message on his cell phone from a mysterious woman who was in
love with him.
Hanna learns from a colleague that Josef was injured while trying to save a man who committed suicide
by intentionally throwing himself into the oil-rig fire. Some other
tragic connection between the two men is implied. He tells about a
near-drowning experience because he cannot swim. Eventually Josef
confides to Hanna his greatest secret guilt, and she tells him about her
previous life in the former Yugoslavia. She describes in detail the horrors she endured during the Balkan Wars (Yugoslav Wars), including being kidnapped and repeatedly raped. She tells of her own repeated torture and lets him feel the scars on her body from the wounds inflicted on her.
Josef is not getting better, and at Hanna's initiative he is
air-lifted off the oil rig to be taken to a hospital. When the
helicopter lands, Josef wants Hanna to accompany him, but she walks away
without a word. However, she leaves behind a backpack (apparently
intentionally), and it contains enough information to give Josef a
chance to find her. After he recovers, Josef travels to Denmark
to visit a counselor that Hanna had seen after fleeing the war, seeking
to learn more about her. He then tracks her down at the factory in
Northern Ireland where she works. They talk, and at first she keeps her
distance, saying she couldn't be with him because she thinks one day she
could drown them both in her sorrow. When he tells her that he will
"learn to swim," she reciprocates the love.
The title of the film is about how words can transmit much more than
they say. The secret world of each character is hidden but carried to
each other by words.
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for five Goya Awards and won four of them, including best film of the year:- Won: Best Director (Isabel Coixet)
- Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Original Screenplay (Isabel Coixet)
- Won: Best Production Supervision (Esther García)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Javier Cámara)
Cast
| Actor | Role | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Polley | Hanna | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tim Robbins | Josef | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Javier Cámara | Simon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sverre Anker Ousdal | Dimitri | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steven Mackintosh | Doctor Sulitzer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eddie Marsan | Victor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Julie Christie | Inge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daniel Mays | Martin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dean Lennox Kelly | Liam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Danny Cunningham | Scott | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emmanuel Idowu | Abdul | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reg Wilson | Manager |
