Sometimes movies get better with time because we change and grow. That is the case with the movie “CAST AWAY” (2000) starring Tom Hanks. I remember really liking the film back when I first watched it but it wasn’t a perfect 10 at that time to me. Well, a decade or so later I watched it again and for whatever reason the film impacted me in a far more greater way. It really moved me like never before.
The first thing that I noticed was the music soundtrack which was perfection. If you’ve read any of my other entries for films I’ve loved you’ll see how important music is to my enjoyment of films. I believe it goes hand in hand like the writing, direction, acting, editing, etc.
Here’s the haunting theme that sends chills throughout my body. I had to check and see if it was composed by my favorite composer Thomas Newman but it was Alan Silvestri. I just love it.
The other thing that I loved about Cast Away was of course the story about survival and dealing with loss as the main character had to endure when he returned after 4 years and he had to accept the fact that his beloved believed he died in the plane crash and moved on and married another man and started a family.
Here is one of the most emotional scenes ever captured on film as Chuck and Kelly reunite briefly after he returns from the perceived death. It is such a powerfully moving scene as they express their love for one another but also realize that they cannot be together because she is married and she has a family now. It reminded me of another favorite rain scene from The Bridges of Madison County. The line Kelly says is amazing “You are the love of my life” and Chuck replies with “and I love you more than you’ll ever know”.
Everything culminates in this memorable monologue by Chuck as he shares everything he learned from the experience to his friend. It is also one of the best scenes ever. What an acting tour de force by Hanks too.
“We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and… knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had… lost her. ‘cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So… I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know?
Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I – , 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. I have ice in my glass… And I’ve lost her all over again. I’m so sad that I don’t have Kelly. But I’m so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring.”
~ Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland in Cast Away (2000)
Of course I’ve tweeted lines from this film many times especially this one.
I also shared some new revelations after repeat viewings such as catching this glimpse of Wilson near the end of the movie.
One of the things that always left a bitter taste in my mouth from the first time I watched Cast Away was the ambiguous ending. When I watched it again I noticed more things that completely changed the ending. Of course I shared these revelations in tweets. 🙂
So the pretty lady that Tom Hanks meets at the end of movie wasn’t just a random person. She is the same artist that created the angel wings design and the owner of the Fed Ex package he held onto for years and finally delivered with a note. Some will argue that the movie shows she was married but there are clues that show that her marriage was doomed. The images I shared of the ranch sign at the beginning of the story and at the end only proves that she is no longer with the cheating scoundrel. 🙂
Recently, after watching it again on the morning of a truly sad day for me and my family, I shared this post on facebook. We all gathered to pay tribute to my nephew who died far too young at age 27.
Here’s a better look at what I posted which included the theme to Cast Away:
It’s a rainy mourning in Georgia outside and inside our hearts as we prepare to say farewell to my nephew Brandon Lino who left us much too soon.
I found this old photo of him (on the far right) with his cousins…as always smiling and laughing. No kid laughed more than Brandon. He loved life.
I watched the movie Cast Away again this morning for no reason and the theme moved me like never before. I realized Brandon like all of us at times became lost at sea at some point in his life–he was a cast away–but he found his way back to shore…and now he’s home again. The silver lining in these dark clouds above is that he found salvation and accepted the Lord in his heart.
https://www.youtube.com/
I shared it on twitter too….
I also saw a car with Wilson!
Here’s the ending….
Some will say Cast Away is just another big budget Hollywood movie and maybe it’s true to a degree….but I will tell you that it has had a tremendous impact on my life. I think of the lessons learned from it often and it makes me appreciate and enjoy life all the more. I mean, what else could anyone ever want from a film?
Here’s a playlist I created on Youtube with all kinds of video clips from the movie and about the movie.
