The Secret Life of Words (2005)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Isabel Coixet

Writer:

Isabel Coixet (writer)

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A hearing impaired factory worker gives up her first holiday in years and instead travels out to an oil rig, where she cares for a man suffering from severe burns.

Plot Keywords:

Oil Rig | Burn | Nurse | Doctor | Nurse Patient Relationship

Awards:

22 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Sarah Polley	...	Hanna
Tim Robbins	...	Josef
Sverre Anker Ousdal	...	Dimitri (as Sverre Ousdal)
Javier Cámara	...	Simon
Danny Cunningham	...	Scott
Dean Lennox Kelly	...	Liam (as Dean Lenox Kelly)
Daniel Mays	...	Martin
Emmanuel Idowu	...	Abdul
Eddie Marsan	...	Victor
Steven Mackintosh	...	Doctor Sulitzer
Julie Christie	...	Inge
Reg Wilson	...	Factory Manager
Leonor Watling	...	Josef's friend's wife
Daphne Brown	...	Old Lady on Bus
Muriel Hobson	...	Old Lady on Bus

Also Known As:

The Secret Life of Words (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
La vida secreta de las palabras (Spain)
La vida secreta de les paraules (Spain: Catalan title)
La vida secreta de las palabras (Argentina) (International: Spanish title) [es]
A Vida Secreta das Palavras (Brazil) (festival title) [pt]
A szavak titkos élete (Hungary) [hu]
Das geheime Leben der Worte (Germany) [de]
I mystiki zoi ton lexeon (Greece) [el]
La vita segreta delle parole (Italy) [it]
The Secret Life of Words (France) [fr]

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:NC-16 | Hungary:16 | Germany:6 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:Btl | Australia:M | South Africa:13L

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Company:

El Deseo S.A.

Trivia:

The oil rig used was the Borgholm Dolphin rig that was docked in Belfast at the time.

Goofs:

Plot holes: If an employee requires medical treatment on an off-shore installation he would immediately be evacuated off.

Quotes:

Josef: I thought um, you and I, maybe we could go away somewhere. Together. One of these days. Today. Right now. Come with me.
Hanna: No, I don't think that's going to be possible.
Josef: Why not?
Hanna: Um, because I think that if we go away to someplace together, I'm afraid that, ah, one day, maybe not today, maybe, maybe not tomorrow either, but one day suddenly, I may begin to cry and cry so very much that nothing or nobody can stop me and the tears will fill the room and I won't be able to breath and I will pull you down with me and we'll both drown.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References "The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo" (1964)

Soundtrack:

All the World Is Green

This film just screened as part of Brisbane International Film festival (Australia). I was truly devastated.

I understand the commentary about the revelation of pain but the most significant 'lesson' for me was the insidious horror of war - in a film without bloodshed - and obviously the lingering effects of man's inhumanity to man. The slow reveal of the characters' backgrounds crept up on me and to my surprise left me absolutely gutted at the film's conclusion -and for some time after. I was left with a feeling of emotional and physical grief that i have not felt since my father died - the uncontrollable tide of internal pain. While a completely different genre, it reminded me of Sophie's Choice but in comparison made Streep's horror look like a walk in the park. Polley is amazing. What human's do to each other is tragic beyond description. And yet, we continue to torture our fellow humans and apparently fail to learn from our mistakes.