MovieChat Forums > All Is Lost (2013) Discussion > For all you sailors on IMDB

For all you sailors on IMDB

posted 9 years ago by Zamzummin
13 replies | jump to latest

I'm kind of fed up reading all the comments by experienced sailors/fishermen/ship mechanics etc. talking about how the protagonist was unprepared to go out to sea and how the movie was so "unrealistic" with no EPIRBs or sat nav, etc.

Two things:

1. This movie wasn't made for you.
It was made for a general audience where >99% of us don't know anything about sailing. To me he actually seemed very prepared and knowledgeable. The way he went about patching the hole, hoisting himself up to fix the antenna cable, putting away all glassware before the storm so they don't break when the water gets choppy, connecting himself to the boat with a safety harness so he can drag himself back on board during the storm, setting up a water still on the life raft, the list goes on. He seemed pretty knowledgeable and skilled to me. But again, I'm not a sailor. If you are, this movie isn't for you.

2. It's a movie.
Some movies try very hard to be realistic. Others forsake some realism for artistic license in order to make the plot work. If you expect every movie to be 100% flawless in premise and execution, you might as well give up on cinema right now. If he was perfectly equipped and prepared, he would have been rescued within 72 hours and there would be no movie. Complaining about all these things seems like a soggy sailor-circle-jerk and nobody wants to see that.

[–] TopFrog 9 years ago

Half an hour into this I turned to my wife and said, "They made this movie in order to annoy sailors." And then about two-thirds of the way through, after we had both complained many times about what the guy was doing I said, "This is what it must have been like for an astronaut to watch Gravity." I understand your points, but shouldn't a movie about sailing be a good watch for sailors? It's a natural audience for such a film.

[–] Blubonnet_Spearman 9 years ago

Sailors are a tiny part of an audience

[–] kustom135 9 years ago

The movie is about the line between the allure of risk versus the need for self-preservation.

The sailor who carries an EPIRB on a single-handed oceanic trek clearly is reducing risk and playing it safe. Tech-y safety toys make it all the more easy for the modern 'sailor' to 'challenge' the high seas, don't they?

Where's the ultimate risk in that?

In this regard, the protagonist in this film purposefully may have pared safety down to a slim margin by leaving the safeties behind--to see if he could succeed.

He didn't, that's all.

[–] drjettrink 9 years ago

I appreciate what you are saying, but they had to know sailors would be interested in the subject matter. The one thing it do for me is give me an appreciation for how frustrated scientists must get when watching bad science-fiction.

[–] Blubonnet_Spearman 9 years ago

Excellent comment. Self appointed expert sailors on here are a laugh. In the real world people make mistakes, forget things and often make bad judgments. This includes people who should know better. But they still do it. For example, a millionaire who was participating in a sailing race had to be rescued not once but twice by my countries navy. Taxpayers weren't too happy with him. Especially when he proclaimed to such an expert much like many here.

[–] mpboylanjr-54038 9 years ago

But lighting your raft on fire after only 8 days really did it for me. That was so dumb. He wasn't in the least bit out there long enough to be starved because he had food , and he had water for most part and wasn't drinking salt water. This means he wasn't crazy or delirious enough to think burning a fire in your raft (weather controlled or not ) was in his best interest. Guys in WW2 and other instances had been known to drift at sea for over a month or so. I think that made the end terrible. The director either made him weak and therefore just made Redford want to die or it was just a poor way to end what could have been a great movie. Such a stupid ending !!!

THERES NO ROOM IN MY CIRCUS TENT FOR YOU !!!!!

[–] ScreenwriterVA 9 years ago

I can see why he made a fire. He had no flares left, he heard the engine so the boat had to be close. It was pitch black out, the only thing he could do to raise the boat's attention was to light a fire.

[–] uplandmad 9 years ago

I certainly understand how in-depth knowledge of an esoteric subject can take a viewer out of a movie. However, the display of that knowledge in an attempt to take others out of the movie as well has always impressed me with its pettiness, churlishness, and ignobility.

[–] oldsalt1961 8 years ago

Kustom135. Going to sea alone without proper gear is akin to climbing Everest without oxygen. You can try it but it sure isn't smart. Taking foolish risks isn't done for the adrenaline rush; it's done because your a fool.

[–] paulhar 8 years ago

because YOU'RE a fool

[–] oldsalt1961 8 years ago

I understand the original post; howevera movie with this subject will certainly be of interest to an audience with experience in this area. Comments from those viewers are to be expected. I stand by my statements that if the characters actions were faithfully portrayed that he did some things well, and was unprepared in others. I base my conclusions on 25 years experience in maritime SAR.

[–] EllieJ1961 8 years ago

Paulhar was correcting your grammar, not calling you a fool.

Your versus you're.

[–] vojkan087 8 years ago

I liked the movie for what it tried to say and the way it said it. But, you can't easily get away with certain things in these kinds of movies. Criticism is expected.

Maybe it would work even better in some other time period where some things could be explained away more easily.