La Vida secreta de las palabras

[Arni Heimir]

I saw this incredible movie today called "La Vida secreta de las palabras". It starred Tim Robbins and Sarah Polley. It was about a migrant worker played by Polley who after a series of event works as a nurse to a burn victim, played by Robbins, on an oil rig.

 

I don't want to ruin the movie by telling too much. But I urge everyone to see it.

 

The production value in this film was at par with film with ten times the budget they had to work with on this one. It takes place in a oil rig, but as it turned out, a lot of it was shot on a sound stage in Madrid. I thought is was solely shot on location.

 

The image looked sharp and crisp. Very little grain. It also seemed unlit, a style suitable to the film's subject matter.

 

It also had the best make up effect I've seen in cinema in a long time.

[Alberto Fernandez]

Ok, a year later and you got 1 person to see the movie.. yeah!! hah

 

Seriously, I watched this on DVD a few months ago and it really got me interested in filmmaking. The best thing about it is the storytelling style, I thought it was an Almodovar film, then after the film I noticed he only produced it, but it seems pretty obvious to me he gave some pointers to the director, editor, actors.. it has his signature.

 

This is a kind of movie for screenwriters and editors, its just so good from that angle, it shows only what you need to see, and leaves you guessing on the non critical elements, for example: spoiler next: after the main characters (polley and robbins) split their own ways due to the treatment ending polley tries to get on the ambulance but she is not allowed, robbins finds polley's bag on the ambulance that drove him home.. did she leave the bag on purpose so that robbins could find her? the director does not show the audience if it was an accident or not, it only shows when robbins finds it and decides to follow the lead. Well, its complicated to explain, but it makes it all so subtle I am pretty sure Almodovar had something to do with that.

 

This movie is just a great thing to watch if you are tired of big studio movies, its just so different in pace, and nothing is violently shoved into your mind, it makes you feel smart because all those symbolisms actually make sense. Its like reading a good book, unlike weird movies with symbolisms you cant really decipher because they are simply mistakes the director allowed to be left in for random reasons, or just to make it NOT a regular film.

 

Something similar happens in another really extremely good movie of Almodovar, "Volver", where he makes just unbelievably stuff, like SPOILER ALERT!!..... make you think someone is a ghost without using any kind of camera trick, special effect, moods, nothing, just good simple dialog and amazing actors. Think 6th sense.. but BETTER (altough not used as a climax). Its mind blowing when you realize she wasnt really a ghost, in this case this movie does not make you feel smart i guess.. hah.. quite the opposite in fact, but wow, its refreshing to know there are people being SO creative that they dont need special effects or tricks to make you 'buy' the story.

Edited October 19, 2007 by Alberto Fernandez