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The Secret Life of Words

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS, written and directed by Isabel Coixet, follows Hanna (Sarah Polley), a factory worker who lives alone in a barren apartment, wears a hearing-aid, and keeps to herselfwith arigorous daily routine ofidentical meals,a fresh bar of soap every day,and needlepoint work at night. While on an extended holiday in Northern Ireland, she volunteers as anurse, tending toa burn victim Josef (Tim Robbins) stationed on an oil rig. While Hannacoaxes him back to health, Josef, who has suffered temporary blindness, reaches out to her urgently, wanting to connect.As his brutish and passionate demeanor contrasts sharplywith Hanna's solemn and quiet manner, Hannainitially refuses to reveal anything about herself, even her real name.Butshe soonshe starts to recognize parallels between her own isolation and that of the others on the oil rig. She eventually grows to care for Josef and shares with him a painfully severe secret from her past that opens wounds, and doors, for the two strangers from different worlds to come together and help heal one another.

With the shaky-camera technique, absence of a film score,and the backdrop of a lone oil rig, writer and director Coixet (who also wrote and directedPolley in the 2003 critically-acclaimed MY LIFE WITHOUT ME), emphasizes the vulnerability and seclusion of the characters.Robbins and Polley turn in compelling performances; and a strong supporting cast that includes Javier Camara (TALK TO HER) and Eddie Marsan (THE ILLUSIONIST).
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 62100342
Credits

Sarah Polley, Tim Robbins, Javier Camara, Eddie Marsan, Julie Christie, Sverre Anker Ousdal
Critic Reviews

"[W]hen THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS returns to Hanna and Josef and their struggle to connect and to heal, it glows with dignity."
New York Times
"Sarah Polley delivers a halting, evocative 10-minute monologue....Polley is mesmerizing as she raises the movie's stakes..." -- Grade: B-
Entertainment Weekly
"[Featuring] unconventional scenarios laced with gentle metaphors and earnest, heartbreaking performances."
Box Office