Customer Reviews

The Secret Life Of Words : Widescreen Edition

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Secret Life of Words" is directed by Isabel Coixet ("My Life without Me"). In this quiet film Sarah Polley is Hanna silently working at a factory, keeping to herself in her life. One day her boss tells her to take a vacation even though Hanna doesn't seem to enjoy the idea. Still she travels to a seaside town, where she finds nothing to do. While having a lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, however, she hears about Josef (Tim Robbins), severely burnt victim of a fire at an offshore oil rig.

Hanna volunteers to nurse him and flies to the isolated site where not many things happen. There Hanna cares for Josef, who cannot see her face, wearing a bandage over his eyes because of injury. Josef keeps talking to Hanna, asking her questions while telling her a few things about him. As the film slowly goes on, Hanna, not the most sociable nurse in the world, still starts to reveal her past, which is related to the events that happened in her native country years ago.

Supporting actors include Javier Cámara, Steven Mackintosh, Eddie Marsan, Daniel Mays and Julie Christie, plus cameo of Leonor Watling. Though her screen time is short, Julie Christie is wonderful as Inge who cares for Hanna. (Inge's character is based on the real-life person Denmark-born Dr. Inge Genefke of IRCT.) But the film virtually belongs to the two leading actors, Sarah Polley and Tim Robbins.

Not many "actions" happen during the film which heavily depends on the words the characters speak. Some may think the film's pace is too slow and its story boring while others may find the understated tone essential to the spiritual changes that main characters Hanna and Josef undergo. The poetical and slightly surreal quality of the film (opening and ending voiceovers, for example) will either attract or puzzle viewers.

Sarah Polley's Hanna uses English with a strong accent. Her acting is fantastic as always, but I thought Canadian-born Sarah Polley may not be the best choice for the role of Hanna, whose nationality plays an important part in the film. And probably the character of Josef needs to be more substantial for the relations between them to develop fully to the extent the film's last chapter shows to us.

In "The Secret Life of Words" the "actions" have already happened before the film starts. You slowly come to know the nature of the actions or secrets through the words Hanna and Josef speak. Despite its overlong running time, I liked the film for its quietness and subdued approach, but some may not love the film for the very same reason.

It is always a joy to find a DVD in the videostore that is completely an unknown entity, only to discover upon viewing it that it is a little masterpiece of cinematic art. Such is the case with THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS, and having seen the film now raises the question of how it went unnoticed in the theater release. Though touted on the cover as an 'Almodóvar film', in reality it's connection to the genius lies in the fact that both Pedro and his brother Agustín Almodóvar were executive producers: the film was written and directed by Spanish artist Isabel Coixet (Paris, je t'aime, Invisibles, My Life Without Me). It is a minimalist statement about the indomitable human spirit, a story that slowly unwinds to reveal some of the most terrifying aspects of trauma of war and guilt and shame ever written.

Hanna (Sarah Polley, in a phenomenal performance) is a deaf, silent reclusive young woman working as a line operator in a factory, so married to her meaningless job that her boss insists she take a vacation she deserves. Hanna does as she's told, and journeys to a seaside spot where she hears about a man on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean who is severely burned and needs a nurse. Hanna quietly takes the job, is flown by the doctor (Steven Mackintosh) to the isolated oil rig, populated with only a few men - cook Simon (Javier Cámara of 'Hable con ella', 'La Mala educación, 'Lucía y el sexo' etc), oceanographer and workers (Eddie Marsan, Daniel Mays, Dean Lennox Kelly, Danny Cunningham, Emmanuel Idowu) and a captain (Steven Mackintosh), and meets her patient Josef (Tim Robbins) who is temporarily blinded from burns to his corneas, and severely burned on his limbs.

Josef seeks to discover information from Hanna, but Hanna shares nothing about herself, spending her time dressing Josef's wounds, feeding him and tending to his needs. He slowly reveals his painful past to her (he was burned in an accident in which his best friend was burned to death, the friend whose wife had become Josef's lover!). Hanna is treated well by the few men on the isolated rig and learns to eat the exotic foods prepared by Simon, becoming friends with the crew, though at a distance, and gradually Hanna speaks with Josef about herself. In a painful confessional Hanna reveals that she is Bosnian and a survivor of the Balkan war, a hideous time when she and her close friend were captured, tortured and raped, leaving Hanna with physical as well as psychic scars and an enormous feeling of shame that her friend died and she survived. This knowledge bonds Hanna and Josef, but by this point it is time for Josef to be medevaced to a hospital onshore and the two part company. After some time has passed and Josef has recovered, he begins his search for Hanna and the journey and its finale serve as a touching end to the story.

The cast is uniformly brilliant, including a small role of Hanna's therapist played convincingly by Julie Christie. The metaphors the tale offers are many, but the most moving is an examination of how the human mind deals with survival and shame after trauma. Director Isabel Coixet draws such subtle performances from the entire cast in this very small film, proving she is one of the more important artists in film making today. Very Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, May 07

*****
"The Secret Life of Words" is a slow-paced movie telling the story of a young woman who takes care of a burn victim. The young woman, Hanna, is a torture victim. The film show the slow development of intimacy between her and her patient. It explores themes subtley and beautifully and unconventionally.

If you are interested in being entertained, you may not enjoy this movie. If you want to be moved, and touched, and to have an unforgettable film experience, you will not be unsatisfied.

This is not a conventional movie, and those who wish for a quick pace and obvious themes will be disappointed. Those who are content to process and think while a theme is developed, and who are open for a different sort of movie will be pleased.

The acting in this movie is incredible, from Tim Robbins' leading role, to Julie Christie, and Sarah Polley. I had rented the movie, and immediately purchased it after viewing it once to keep and to view again and again.

Highly recommended for the thoughtful moviegoer.
*****

*****
"The Secret Life of Words" is a slow-paced movie telling the story of a young woman who takes care of a burn victim. The young woman, Hanna, is a torture victim. The film show the slow development of intimacy between her and her patient. It explores themes subtley and beautifully and unconventionally.

If you are interested in being entertained, you may not enjoy this movie. If you want to be moved, and touched, and to have an unforgettable film experience, you will not be unsatisfied.

This is not a conventional movie, and those who wish for a quick pace and obvious themes will be disappointed. Those who are content to process and think while a theme is developed, and who are open for a different sort of movie will be pleased.

The acting in this movie is incredible, from Tim Robbins' leading role, to Julie Christie, and Sarah Polley. I had rented the movie, and immediately purchased it after viewing it once to keep and to view again and again.

Highly recommended for the thoughtful moviegoer.
*****

"Sarah Polley gives a wonderfully searching performance, as a woman in a state of extreme isolation, in "The Secret Life of Words," a compellingly claustrophobic drama set mostly aboard an oil rig. This film tackles its big theme -- silence as a defense against tragedy -- with delicacy, sympathy and originality, sans sentimentality." Jonathan Holland

This film grabbed me and cut to my core. Immediately this young woman played by Sarah Polley spoke to me. This is an actress who can display with a flick of her hair and a non expression that something has gone terribly wrong and will never be right again. Hanna as she is known, is deaf, she lives alone, she works in a factory and has not had a sick day or a day off in 4 years. We know she eats white rice, chicken nuggets and half an apple for every meal. She has a collection of almond scented soap in her bathroom, and she uses a new bar everytime she washes her hands. This is all we know. She is summoned to her supervisor's office and told she must take a 4 week vacation. Her non-speech and work ethic gives her fellow workers a case of nerves, she must at least act human.

Hanna goes to the coast of Northern Ireland and while eating dinner one evening she overhears a conversation that changes her life. An oil rig has had a fire, and there is a great need for a nurse to care for a burned man. She volunteers for the duty and is flown by helicopter to the oil rig.

Hanna meets her patient, Josef, played by Tim Robbins. He has corneal burns and cannot see, leg fractures and burns on his body and face, but he remains intelligent and self-deprecating. He obtained his burns by trying to save someone else. The fact is that what Hanna and Josef don't say is sometime's more significant than what they do say. Hanna maintains her stalwart composure and does not give anything away. Little by little their relationship develops and Hanna begins to open her heart and secrets, as does Josef. On one day, Hanna discloses her shattering past. Josef gathers her in his arms, and this scene is more exqisite than words can express.

The rest of the small crew on the rig are loners as is Hanna. They all have their stories and the chef is the most telling. Hanna discovers that food should be tasted and enjoyed. A scene with Hanna, sitting on the stairs, devouring the rest of Josef's meal will live on. There is a sharing of respect, and Hanna has a family of sorts.

The trauma of both of these characters is lessened by their meeting. Hanna helps Josef heal and Josef helps Hanna with her emotional recovery. Josef has bones that mend and Hanna has a life opened to the world. The time comes when Josef needs more expert care, and they are both helicoptered off the rig to the city. "Hanna, Hanna,' we hear Josef yell as he is lifted into the ambulance. "Hanna,Hanna".

The soundtrack to the film is exquisite. From Clem Snide to David Byrne to Tom Waits and to Paolo Conte. Each song has its place and link the narrative as needed. It is a sound track to be played over and over again.


"Instead of being a visionary film that shows us how people behave when they have been tremendously damaged, this becomes an explanatory film that tells us that its characters have been damaged, and need love to heal them. This may or may not be true, but it's definitely a truism, and it dissolves at least some of the picture's potency and mystery into cliché." Emily Taylor

We often hear without words, and we understand through facial changes what someone is thinking. This film is the ultimate in communication without words, and when words are spoken, each of them evokes a distinct memory.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 05-24-08

The Sweet Hereafter (New Line Platinum Series)

The Shawshank Redemption (Two-Disc Special Edition)

This was, by far, the most memorable movie of my year. I was able to see it at a theater in Barcelona while I was visiting over Christmas and I haven't been able to shake it out of my mind since. It is beautifully written and sensationally acted. It's a bit slow-moving so I woudln't recommend if you're up for a fast-paced thriller type of movie, but if you're looking for something about human interaction and love, this is the movie for you! Beautiful, I promise.

This movie is very deep, it made me cry and think about many things...
I recommend it to everyone over 14.

I loved this film. It's a very good combination of a personal drama with politics & history. Tim Robbins' performance is great. Sarah Polley is so good as she was in "My lIfe without me". I'm looking forward to seeing new films from Isabel Coixet.

Just as the title implies, this movie has a lot of dialogue and monologues--at times its structure is like an extended short story or a play. Truthfully played by Robbins and Polley--the focus of the plot--the two make an odd couple, the former a severely burned worker recovering on an oil rig; the latter, a 'refugee' from the horrors of the Yugoslavian ethnic cleansing era. He cannot see (temporary blindless) while she is hearing impaired. Each harbors secrets that get revealed as their relationship develops. Meanwhile, there is a small crew of other wounded people aboard, who also have their secrets. But what comes across to me is that they, like all of us, present a veneer to the world, which ultimately disappoints us all. Maybe the bravest can admit it. Life inside the chamber of the oil rig seems a fitting metaphor for civilization. We are able to exploit and dominate nature via technology, yet we cannot master our souls. If the viewing public were more amenable to films like this, we'd be better off.

`The Secret Life of Words' was one of those films that just slipped in under the radar so-to-speak. I had head a lot about it and then it all but disappeared before I noticed it on the shelf at my local video store and remembered all that I had heard. I immediately grabbed the movie and I can honestly say it was well worth it. The film is a quiet film yet it speaks volumes with its emotional depth. This is of course aided strongly by the brilliant performances by the cast, especially Tim Robbins. Robbins is slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite working actors, and I know that may sound odd since he's been acting for some time now, but recently his brilliance has really come through. His performance here is no exception.

`The Secret Life of Words' follows a young woman named Hanna who is obviously stilted by events in her past that cause her to be distant from others, to be reclusive. She even admits to being somewhat prejudice and gives off the air of someone almost bothered by the people around her, thus opting to turn down her hearing aids so as not to have to listen to them talk. It's because of this persona that she's all but forced to take a vacation by her boss who doesn't want to fire her but has to confront her about the impression she leaves on her workmates. Instead of choosing a pretty place to vacate she ends up choosing to work. She overhears the need for a nurse and she takes the job. Hanna then finds herself on an oil rig off the coast of Northern Ireland taking care of Josef, a man burned badly in a fire aboard the rig. Josef is left temporarily blind yet he still is as conversational as could be. He's persistent with Hanna, trying to get her to open up and slowly the two begin to unveil just who they really are.

The film on its own is very well done, but it's really Tim Robbins who catapults this into a must see feature. His performance is so naturally inviting, so absorbing that I'm tempted to say it could be a career best for him. I love Polley, lord knows that. Her supporting performance in `The Sweet Hereafter' is one of my favorite supporting performances ever, but here I feel she's a bit miscast. She does fine, don't get me wrong, and she truly uncovers all that is Hanna. It's just that accent that I couldn't get past. I really didn't feel it was real from her. I know she must have worked hard for it, but it came off a bit too forced for me, not natural. She played her characters emotions fantastically, but she was quickly overshadowed by Robbins.

In the end, `The Secret Life of Words' is a film I'd recommend readily. It delivers on just about every front and contains one of the best performances of the past decade in my opinion. One reviewer used the word poetic when describing this film and I must agree. Writer/Director Isabel Coixet has a lot of potential and I see greatness in her future. I've yet to see `My Life Without Me', also starring Sarah Polley, but if it's anything like this film then I'll be sure to find it and watch it very soon.