Cast Away

I didn’t expect to like this movie starring Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt. At first glance, it was just another survival movie. A plane crashes and the survivor, Tom Hanks, has to learn to go it alone. Boring!

I watched expecting it to go the same way. He would have a hard time, and then would be rescued at some point in time. However, it took me by surprise as the movie progressed. He, Tom Hanks, goes through a physical and emotional transformation and it kept me captivated. I’ve watched this movie twice and I still LIKE it.

“I couldn’t even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that’s when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow, I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that’s what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I’m back in Memphis, talking to you.”

It was about survival but more so than that, it was also about not giving up. The rescue took four years and he survived 1,500 days on the deserted island before managing to escape on a man-made raft. The unopened package with angel wings saved his life. It gave him hope and it kept him going. Delivering the package gives him closure at the end and he is able to move on with his life.

I didn’t think I would like the movie but it proved me wrong. I walked away thinking that “never giving up” no matter how dire the circumstances speaks to all of us. It is a matter of survival.