Scriptwriter J. C. Chandor
RATING 👍 (4 of 10)
Watch not so much for depth but for artistic qualities.
The Review
The feel of the
movie, reinforced by the score, is tragic and depressive. Here is an elderly
sailor who faces the forces of nature with broken tools and inadequate supply
for survival, and in a territory where human power is most limited – the ocean
(as opposed to land). It is a situation set up for hopelessness, of
experiencing the limits of human capacity, and of helplessness.
The only time the sailor speaks
was at the beginning and the end of the film. While the narration tried to encapsulate his
life in philosophical terms, the lack of flashbacks along the way tended to
hollow these thoughts – to be true, to be
strong, to be kind, to love, to be right… The viewer cannot empathize with
his past because of not being able to see it.
Another weakness in this movie
is the absence of thought narratives in certain moments in his struggle to
survive. These thoughts would have deepened the viewer’s appreciation of the
frustrations and hopelessness he experienced as human limits faced overwhelming
odds. This oversight too leaves the viewers detached from his inner turmoil;
thus lessening the emotional and cognitive impact.
There is, however, one positive
message this movie provides at the end of the film: Sometimes help comes just in time; at times almost a bit too late, but
timely enough for the rescue. The story however left the prospect of rescue
or not an open-ended question. Would his effort to surface enough allow his
rescue possible?
The absence of an awareness
of God in the movie, even at a moment of desperation and hopelessness, creates a
situation for deeper discussion among Catholic viewers though.
Points of Discussion
- Does the movie show the compassion of God even to a non-believer in a time most need? Or, the possible rescue was just a mere coincidence not related to any action of God?
- Is it enough to live a good life without having to believe in God?
- Does the sailor's predicament a test of his self-sufficiency, a test of his belief in the goodness of man, a test of the human power against that of nature, or is it simply a consequence for irrational decision to take the seas alone?
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