The Secret Life of Words

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The Secret Life of Words
film poster
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
Running time	115 min.
IMDb profile

The Secret Life of Words is a 2005 film, directed by Isabel Coixet.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Hanna (Sarah Polley) is told by her boss that she works well, but that her colleagues have problems with her. The apparent reasons he cites is that trade unionists do not like her because she is very hard working and talks little. Her boss decides to send her on a one month break, which she reluctantly accepts.

During her holiday she takes on a job as private nurse for burn victim Josef (Tim Robbins), who is bedridden in an offshore oil rig. Josef had suffered an accident and as a consequence has severe burns and no vision. The rig is not operational awaiting an investigation, and few people remain onboard.

Hanna does not talk much, and especially does not want to talk about herself, but as they get closer they start sharing their experiences with each other. Hanna learns from a colleague that Josef got his injuries while trying to save a man trying to kill himself. Eventually she tells him about her previous life in the former Yugoslavia and about the horrors she endured during the Balkan Wars (Yugoslav Wars). An emotional moment occurs when she lets him feel the scars of wounds inflicted on her when she was abused.

Later Josef is taken to a hospital and the two separate. After recovery, Josef travels to Denmark to visit a counsellor Hanna attended after fleeing the war. He wants to learn more about her past and he is offered the possibility to watch a tape of her counselling sessions, but he does not accept. He instead decides to see Hanna in Northern Ireland where she is living. First she keeps the distance, then she reciprocates the love.