Secret Life of Words (DVD)

The Secret Life of Words

The movie portrays the fragile remains of a torture survivor, Hanna (Sarah Polley) from the war in Croatia. A burn unit nurse by training, she has gone through survival counseling at a center in Copenhagen where her torture was documented by Inge (Julie Christie), and then made her way to work in a Northern Ireland factory. She has post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, including compulsive behavior (stacks of bars of soap), is hearing impaired (nearly deaf without a hearing aid on) and lives her life completely alone, attending to work every day, taking no sick leave or holidays. The union complains so she is directed to take a holiday. She goes to a seacoast village and overhears an oil company manager discussing the need for a live-in nurse for a burned oil platform worker on site in the North Sea. She volunteers to help, and begins to care for Josef (Tim Robbins) who is temporarily blind and has face and arm burns from fighting a rig fire. He coaxes her story of torture from her, feeling the cuts scars on her chest in a remarkably poignant moment of truth. After he is transferred to hospital, she goes back to the factory. He talks to Inge and realizes the depth of suffering and the guilt of torture victims who survive. A moving love story, beautifully done, with unforgettable character development and a happy ending.