Frustrating Film To Watch

He does yell *beep* at one point. Probably to express the frustration.
If it's frustrating for you to watch, then I guess the director managed to convey that feeling of frustration.

The narration in the beginning suggests he tried everything, which means staying clam and think what to do next. So basically the movie portrays your best afford may not be good enough.

This is one of those movies that young people are not well-equipped to understand or accept. (Now that I've started being old, I'm starting to get that some subjects, and some perspectives, are just over the heads of people who haven't been kicked in the stomach a sufficient number of times.)

I too noticed Redford's unbroken silence; he pronounces exactly one word in the entire thing. But first off, he's famous for that. The movie that first made him a star (Jeremiah Johnson) capitalised on that, and so did the next one (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). He doesn't chatter. And after that, you're looking at a guy who has a difficult relationship with life. We don't know why, but if you're old, you don't need to. You just get it. He doesn't talk because he's learned no-one's listening, or maybe that every time he does, he just makes things worse. It's a learned response.

Some of the comments here remind me of the kind of crap I used to say when I was young and knew everything. Now I'm old and know nothing, so I keep my mouth shut too.

I don't think he would react with "How's your luck" or "Why me?" and other quirky phrases.

Death is looming nearby, and fast, and this isn't a day of leisurely fishing when the lures get tangled, or a day or carpentry when you accidentally hammer your thumb and curse "Why me?" or "That was smart!" He's morose, silent and very worried, and not to mention under the constant physical strain of exhaustion and hunger. I do not see much room for self-deprecating phrases when he's in that state of danger.

Him not speaking to himself felt natural to me, and that's how I imagine most would react. The fact most of us sit at a computer for a long time, highly entertained by the flow of videos, words and imagery, but still say absolutely nothing for hours, means humans don't talk to themselves that much. That's a film/TV convention and something more appropriate to Tom Hanks in the mainstream Cast Away (whose situation for a while was far more pleasant and less urgent than Redford's character, to say the least).

It was actually refreshing to see a film with no words, and have it all based on glances and action. I'm sure thoughts were running in his head constantly, but having that silence punctuated at even intervals by forced humor or levity would actually feel more unnatural to me. This film sets its own tone and its own terms early on, and a dialogue-free Redford seems consistent with the long takes and spare manner of filmmaking. And I noticed that the emphasis was on the ambient sound instead (the lapping water, cabin squeaks and storm clouds), all used to further the sense of isolation from civilization. It also seems to intensify the dominance of nature.

I liked most of the movie except for the last third of it. I was sitting there going Okay now what?


I was wondering about the shaving part too. Don't you reserve your water for drinking etc.


It was an okay movie but would I want to watch it again. Well give me a year or two and maybe

I am glad I rented it from the local library, so didn't waste my money on this.

Oh i'd be cursing up and down/panicking... you name it.

Another thing... the electronics. Why didn't he grab them first when salt water began to pour in? You know what salt water what can d?. He seems a bit of a MacGyver in his sailing mind but in fact is pretty dumb... Also why would anyone 'punish' themselves to isolation sailing across across an Ocean i'll never know.

Fun watch nonetheless. ;)