Cast Away - A Story Of Hope, Love and Faith

"Hope is about believing in the potential in us for a life that is greater than the one that our frightened and limited ego has designed, a wisdom larger than our thinking mind can muster, and a love wider than that which we embrace our immediate circle of friends."...David Richo

I realize I overuse this picture on my blog, but my rocks and those precious little hands (belonging to my kids) are my constant source of inspiration.

My daughter is currently reading "The Hatchett" in her grade six reading program.  It's about a thirteen year old boy whose plane crashes and then finds himself alone on the shores of an island to survive with nothing except a hatchett.  Now, that sounds like a novel study I would look forward to!  I love tales of survival.

Yesterday, she came home and excitedly stated that her class is planning to watch the movie "Cast Away", and that I should feel jealous as it's one of my favourites.  I guess I was a little jealous so I watched the movie again.  I'll be frank with you, I have watched this movie several times and never tire of it.  This is because Cast Away is a fascinating tale about the human spirit's indomitability and the overpowering need we have to believe in something.

In Cast Away, Tom Hanks plays Chuck, a time-sensitive (obsessed) FedEx systems analyst whose cargo plane goes down somewhere in the south Pacific on Christmas eve.  He's left alone on a deserted island with no modern day conveniences such as his trusted pager and cell phone.  How ironic it was for him, a man who lived by the clock, speed meant everything, never quite having enough time, not even enough to propose to his girlfriend before boarding the ill-fated plane, to be stuck on an island with nothing but all the time in the world!

The only tools he had for survival were the contents of a few washed up FedEx parcels. His physical survival was the least interesting part of the movie for me.  We knew from his background that he was an intelligent, creative problem solver, who was also a certified sailer.  His basic needs were swiftly met, well, with the exception of making fire.  The only time on the island we actually saw him happy was when he finally succeeded in this troublesome task..

But there was so much more to this movie than basic island survival.  This movie has come to mean a lot to me for the pondering of the mental survival components, how can one survive through the boredom, the isolation, the dire conditions without losing hope that one day rescue will come?  How can you survive and stay motivated year after year under those conditions?  I think for Chuck, it came down to love, faith and having a mission - to keep one package intact so that one day he will deliver it.  This package was decorated with angel wings and symbolized hope for his future.

Inside another FedEx package, he found a volleyball, which Chuck transformed into a faithful companion as well as his "alter ego", named Wilson.  Wilson helped him cope with the social isolation he experienced throughout the four long years he was forced to endure otherwise alone.

He also had a picture of his girlfriend inside a broken pocketwatch.  His love for her gave him constant strength to keep going and kept him connected to his past and the outside world.  A world he hoped to someday return to.   

So I believe he survived with the help of having a link to his past (the picture of his love), a companion in his present (Wilson), and a goal for his future (deliver the package).

Well, there was one more thing he had with him and that was God, or a spirit that helped him through a desperate time.  In this scene he describes a "feeling of warmth" that came over him and then he knew that he had to have faith, to believe, to have hope even though logic says there was none.  He had to keep on breathing because "tomorrow the sun will rise". 

That was a beautiful message in the movie.  It's so inspiring.  Times can get tough, incredibly tough, but we can always count on the sun rising again and we have to keep going on.  Life is a precious gift and we should never forget it.  I also liked how he acknowledged that although he was sad to have lost Kelly again, he was grateful that she was with him on the island.  Even in despair, he was still grateful so I knew something good was soon going to come his way!   

So, of course the sun did rise again for Chuck and what was that "something good" that the tide brought in the next day?

I love this ending.  He has choices now.  But I think from that little smile we can also assume he will have a future with Bettina and maybe that was meant to be.  After all, a part of her was also with him on the island all those years.  And when he finally delivered the package he enclosed a note that said "This package saved my life.".

Great movie!  If you have seen this movie, I would love to hear your thoughts and interpretations.

Cheers!
Linda