The Secret Life of Words

2005
The Secret Life of Words
7.4| 1h52m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 15 December 2005 Released
Producted By: Hotshot Films
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A touching story of a deaf girl who is sent to an oil rig to take care of a man who has been blinded in a terrible accident. The girl has a special ability to communicate with the men on board and especially with her patient as they share intimate moments together that will change their lives forever.

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SnoopyStyle Hanna (Sarah Polley) is a refugee working at a factory. She wears a hearing aid and is haunted by her past. After four years of non-stop work, her boss forces her to take a month off for vacation. She calls Inge (Julie Christie) but she refuses to talk to her. She overhears Victor talking about needing a nurse. She takes the job on the North Sea oil rig caring for worker Josef (Tim Robbins) who was blinded by the fire that shut down the rig.It seems unrealistic that Josef doesn't get airlifted to a hospital right away. There are some excuses but that's what that is. There is a shocking reveal about Hanna's experience. It is definitely a shocking tale and the two great actors land that big scene. There is nobody better than these two actors but this story feels too constructed and manipulative.
georgejbennett In her daily routine as a factory worker and city dweller the dissociated Hannah portrays a torture survivor's shame. She has withdrawn to a safe place within herself, frequently turns off her hearing aid, and does not interact with co-workers or her environment. Co-workers have complained to Hannah's supervisor about her behavior. He praises Hannah for her work habits and her consistency over her four years at the factory then directs her to take a month's vacation.During her vacation on the coast of Ireland she overhears a phone conversation about a burn victim on an offshore oil drilling platform who needs round-the-clock nursing care on the platform until he is stable enough to make the trip to the burn center. We learn that Hannah is a trained nurse who has worked in a burn center as she finds it within herself to react to this victim's need and agrees to provide the necessary care for the 2 week stabilization period.After a short helicopter flight and a brief introduction to her temporarily blinded burn patient she begins the tasks of cleaning, feeding, and providing medical care. They awkwardly make conversation. Through the labor of each conversation and the effort of each interaction we learn a little more about them. In time, they are able to connect to poignantly share their survivor's stories and then their shame. They are able to provide one another with a critical human support element that is necessary for each to move on with their lives just before Josef, the burn victim, is transported to the burn clinic.Well into his recovery Josef is released from the burn clinic at which time he is given a backpack (Hannah's backpack) that was inadvertently checked in with his personal property. He reluctantly accepts it and leaves the clinic. Then Josef meets with the wife of a co-worker who died in the fire on the offshore oil platform to bring closure to this part of his life. Afterwards, he begins his search for Hannah, his nurse.Josef searches for Hannah from addresses found on letters in her backpack. His search takes him to Copenhagen where we learn more about Hannah from an Amnesty International Worker who provides counseling to torture victims. He then travels to her town in Ireland where he finds her outside of the factory. With much trepidation, each re-connects with their humanity and with one another.This movie tells a story that contrasts the worst of human behavior against the best of human behavior in a way that engages us at the very core of our being. .
januce7 Isabel Coixet undoubtedly possesses a tricky sense of humor (especially lines of the leading actor) and a delicate and sensitive imagination. The dialogs are prepared so smartly and the scenes are acted so lively that it was impossible to watch the movie from the "other side". the brilliant director immediately attracts you in.there are unanswered questions left so that you can make up the answers and participate in the film yourself.the synopsis is interesting and displays the lives or jobs of people far away from our sights and make the audience try to make empathy.it is like knowing that farmers exist somewhere but never ever thinking of what would it be like...to be a farmer...Moreover the film touches pathetic social issues in a very affective way without exaggerating and agitating.The only problem was dubbing...In short it is a film to see...a complete success
samkan Why is this woman so depressed? TSLOW does a great job of holding your interest on this mystery. Countless films try to hook you with this question (many with more lavish or exciting circumstances) but few succeed. TSLOW pulls it off and makes excellent use of setting; i.e., the lonely oil rig is a great idea. Although I correctly guessed at the source of Hanna's sorrow - the accent gave it away - I was no less captivated by her account. Tim Robbins does his usual fine performance. I don't know if the writer/director intended it, but Hanna's ordeal had the interesting effect of trumping the burn victim's problems, sort of like the moral, "I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet." The film could have been excellent had the Hollywood crowd pleaser ending been changed. I would have been saddened but more appreciative if; e.g., Robbins had walked away from the shrink's office, understanding when to leave tragedy alone.