The Secret Life of Words [2005] dir Isabel Coixet

The Secret Life of Words (2005)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430576/

The Secret Life of Words is a 2005 Spanish-Irish film, directed by Isabel Coixet and starring Sarah Polley and Tim Robbins

Director:Isabel Coixet
Writer:Isabel Coixet (writer)

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

Writer-director Isabel Coixet's (My Life Without Me) beautifully wrought chamber drama The Secret Life of Words opens on Hanna (Sarah Polley), a laconic, backward and introverted girl in her early '30s, quietly drowning in her own isolation. Partially deaf from working an untold number of hours in a loud factory, Hanna must wear a hearing aid. When her supervisors -- deeply concerned about the four years that have lapsed in Hanna's life without a break -- force her to go on holiday for a month, she hesitantly takes off for a coastal village in the north of Ireland. Once there, she decides to dine in a local restaurant, and overhears, by chance, a telephone conversation conducted by Victor (Eddie Marsan), regarding an accident on a nearby oil rig that he precipitated, which left a victim, Josef (Tim Robbins) in its wake. Hanna tells Victor that she is a nurse, and is instantly flown to the rig to treat the bedbound Josef -- temporarily blind from extensive cornea damage, and his body blanketed with severe burns. She also encounters the structure's motley and eccentric band of workers -- from ecologist Martin (Daniel Mays), who spends his time studying mutated mussels that collect on the ship's base and the waves that strike the side of the rig, to Josef, to chef Simon (Javier Camára), who prepares "gourmet" food no one else can stand, to Dimitri (Sverre Anker Ousdal), an elderly gentleman who is as much of a loner as Hanna. As Hanna begins to foresee a new place for herself among these individuals, a relationship gradually develops between Hanna and Josef, who holds his new friend rapt with lyrical, evocative, magisterial tales from his past -- unknowingly drawing Hanna, one step at a time, toward inner joy, self-expression, and revelation of her own sad and complex story.


ADIRCAE Awards
2006 Won ADIRCAE Award Best Director (Mejor Director) Isabel Coixet
2006 Won ADIRCAE Award Best Performance in a Leading Role Tim Robbins

Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards
2008 Nominated Silver Condor Best Foreign Film, Spanish Language (Mejor Película Iberoamericana) Isabel Coixet Spain.

Ariel Awards, Mexico
2007 Won Silver Ariel Best Latin-American Film (Mejor Película Iberoamericana) Isabel Coixet Spain.

Barcelona Film Awards
2006 Won Barcelona Film Award Best Director (Millor Director) Isabel Coixet
2006 Won Barcelona Film Award Best Film (Millor Pellícula)
2006 Won Barcelona Film Award Best Screenplay (Millor Guió) Isabel Coixet
2006 Nominated Barcelona Film Award Best Actor (Millor Actor) Tim Robbins
2006 Nominated Barcelona Film Award Best Actress (Millor Actriu) Sarah Polley
2006 Nominated Barcelona Film Award Best Cinematography (Millor Fotografía) Jean-Claude Larrieu
2006 Nominated Barcelona Film Award Best Film Editing (Millor Muntatge) Irene Blecua
2006 Nominated Barcelona Film Award Best Score (Millor Música)

Butaca Awards
2006 Won Butaca Best Catalan Film (Millor película catalana) Isabel Coixet

Chlotrudis Awards
2008 Nominated Chlotrudis Award Best Actress Sarah Polley

Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain
2006 Won CEC Award Best Cinematography (Mejor Fotografía) Jean-Claude Larrieu
2006 Won CEC Award Best Director (Mejor Director) Isabel Coixet
2006 Won CEC Award Best Film (Mejor Película)
2006 Won CEC Award Best Screenplay, Original (Mejor Guión Original) Isabel Coixet
2006 Nominated CEC Award Best Actor (Mejor Actor) Tim Robbins
2006 Nominated CEC Award Best Actress (Mejor Actriz) Sarah Polley
2006 Nominated CEC Award Best Editing (Mejor Montaje) Irene Blecua
2006 Nominated CEC Award Best Supporting Actor (Mejor Actor Secundario) Javier Cámara

European Film Awards
2006 Nominated European Film Award Best Actress Sarah Polley

Fotogramas de Plata
2006 Won Fotogramas de Plata Best Film (Mejor Película Española) Isabel Coixet


Goya Awards
2006 Won Goya Best Director (Mejor Director) Isabel Coixet
2006 Won Goya Best Film (Mejor Película)
2006 Won Goya Best Production Supervision (Mejor Dirección de Producción) Esther García
2006 Won Goya Best Screenplay - Original (Mejor Guión Original) Isabel Coixet
2006 Nominated Goya Best Supporting Actor (Mejor Actor de Reparto)Javier Cámara

Guadalajara Mexican Film Festival
2006 Won Mayahuel Award Best Director Isabel Coixet

Sant Jordi Awards
2006 Won Audience Award Best Film (Mejor Película Española) Isabel Coixet
2006 Won Sant Jordi Best Film (Mejor Película Española) Isabel Coixet

Spanish Actors Union
2006 Nominated Award of the Spanish Actors Union Film: Performance in a Minor Role, Male (Reparto Cine - Categoría Masculina) Javier Cámara

Turia Awards
2006 Won Turia Award Best Spanish Film Isabel Coixet Tied with Habana Blues (2005).

Venice Film Festival
2005 Won Lina Mangiacapre Award Isabel Coixet