The Secret Life of Words
Encyclopedia
The Secret Life of Words is a 2005
Spanish
film
, directed by Isabel Coixet
and starring Sarah Polley
and Tim Robbins
. The film was released on December 15, 2006 and grossed a worldwide total of $6,410,058.
n 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 rape
d. 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 drawn 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.
and won four of them, including best film of the year:
Polley was nominated as Best European Actress by the European Film Academy
for her performance in this film.
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
Spanish
Cinema of Spain
The art of motion-picture making within the nation of Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema.In recent years, Spanish cinema has achieved high marks of recognition as a result of its creative and technical excellence...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, directed by Isabel Coixet
Isabel Coixet
Isabel Coixet is a Spanish film director.She received an M.A. in history from the University of Barcelona...
and starring Sarah Polley
Sarah Polley
Sarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea...
and Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
. The film was released on December 15, 2006 and grossed a worldwide total of $6,410,058.
Plot
Taciturn, partially deaf Hanna (Polley) is a YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n native working in a factory in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. 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
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
after a fire on the rig, and has severe burns and is temporarily blinded
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
. 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
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
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
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. She describes in detail the horrors she endured during the Balkan Wars (Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
), including being kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and repeatedly rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d. She tells of her own repeated torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
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
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. 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 drawn 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 Awards20th Goya Awards
The 20th Goya Awards took place at the Palacio Municipal de Congresos in Madrid, Spain on 29 January 2006.-Major award nominees:-Other award nominees:...
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)
Polley was nominated as Best European Actress by the European Film Academy
European Film Academy
The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988.- European Film Academy :...
for her performance in this film.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Sarah Polley Sarah Polley Sarah Polley is a Canadian actress, singer, film director, and screenwriter. Polley first attained notice in her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea... |
Hanna |
| Tim Robbins Tim Robbins Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon... |
Josef |
| Javier Cámara Javier Cámara Javier Cámara is a Spanish actor, most notably in the Pedro Almodóvar films Talk to Her and Bad Education , and the television series 7 Vidas .... |
Simon |
| Sverre Anker Ousdal Sverre Anker Ousdal Sverre Anker Ousdal is a Norwegian actor born in Flekkefjord, Norway.-Biography:Ousdal made his debut in 1965 at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen... |
Dimitri |
| Steven Mackintosh Steven Mackintosh -Personal life:Mackintosh was born in Cambridge, the son of Dorothy and Malcolm Mackintosh. He has a sister, Lynda Ellingham .He is married to the actress Lisa Jacobs and the couple have two children, Martha and Blythe.-Film:... |
Doctor Sulitzer |
| Eddie Marsan Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice C. "Eddie" Marsan is an English actor.-Early life:Marsan was born in Stepney, London to a working class family; his father was a lorry driver and his mother a school dinner lady and teacher's assistant... |
Victor |
| Julie Christie Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school.... |
Inge |
| Daniel Mays Daniel Mays -Early life:One of four boys, Mays was raised in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts before going on to win a place at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.-Career:... |
Martin |
| Dean Lennox Kelly Dean Lennox Kelly Dean Lennox Kelly is an English actor, He is the brother of actor Craig Kelly.Dean is best known for his role as Kev Ball in Channel 4’s Shameless.-Career:... |
Liam |
| Danny Cunningham | Scott |
| Emmanuel Idowu | Abdul |
| Reg Wilson | Manager |