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From the award-winning tandem that made Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks)
comes another powerful movie that delivers not just entertainment but also a message as old as humanity.
Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is a FedEx systems engineer who lives by the clock and goes around
the globe to make sure his company does its job well. He spends Christmas Eve with his fiancée Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt, What Women Want) but leaves her for some
emergency work, promising to be back by New Year's Eve. En route to Malaysia, their plane crashes to the Pacific Ocean leaving Chuck as sole survivor. Cast away to a deserted
island, Noland learns to fend for himself with practically no tools for survival, except for the contents of some FedEx packages which were washed ashore.
Zemeckis shows the art of film at its best by telling the story of Chuck Noland (thrown to no
land). Half of the film is almost practically silent with only the winds, the waves and other nature sounds. The compelling image of Noland trying to survive takes center
stage without any supporting cast or dialogue, but with excellent shots of the harsh beauty of a tropical island. Cinematography is superb (particularly the plane crash and
Chuck adrift on the water) and the script, interesting and intelligent. Tom Hanks, who had to lose 50 pounds for almost a year, delivers his best performance yet while Helen
Hunt develops her character convincingly despite the short screen time.
Chuck clings to a small picture of Kelly, a volleyball which he names Wilson, and a mysterious
FedEx box with angel wings painted on it as his reasons to survive. In all his struggles there is no reference to God or anything religious. And yet this makes Cast Away
all the more a compelling statement of the grandeur and beauty of the human spirit. The need for relationship and letting go, for making the most of time and "wasting" it
to care and be there for others, for valuing the basic needs in life instead of complaining about the inconveniences it brings, is shown.
"The most beautiful thing in this world is the world itself." Yet the film shows that this
world is not a perfect place. We have no control over what will happen to us. We are castaways in the sea of life but we are not victims. As Chuck Noland says: "I'm sad but I
do not lose hope. We never know what the tide may bring. Tomorrow, the sun may be up."
Although wholesome, this movie is rated for viewers 14 years old and above because of certain
stressful scenes like the plane crash, the physical challenges Chuck faces on the island and the corpse washed ashore.
(Date Reviewed: February 16, 2001)
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