[Jim Moonan]

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Being something of a cinematic Average Joe, I'm curious to see if others here have seen the movie All Is Lost and what your take on it was.

What I liked about it was its echo of Godot and the relentless simplicity of the storytelling. I liked that the story was told with virtually no dialog. Redford, I think, did a good job of not over-acting the character and letting the elements take front and center. The ending is dubious. I like dubiousness in art (in art).

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[Jim Moonan]

I’m waiting… 😊

[Sarah-Jane Crowson]

I haven't seen it (sorry). I'll wait with you though. Nice leafless tree you've got here.

Sarah-Jane

[Jayne Osborn]

Hi Jim,
I haven't seen it, or even heard of the film before, but I'm quite intrigued having Googled it. I'm hoping to watch it in the next day or two, so...

"I'll be back!"

(Oh, wait... that's another film, innit? )

Jayne

[Roger Slater]

I saw it quite some time ago and I enjoyed it. I didn't love it, but I was very impressed with the way the story clearly unfolded and held my interest despite the lack of spoken words. Moment by moment there always seemed to be something you were curious about enough to keep watching, and before you knew it the movie was over. I confess that my memory of the film is dim enough that I don't remember the ending.

[Jim Moonan]

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Me: "I'm waiting... "


Aha! You see! Guilt does work!

I think you're right, Sarah-Jane, that most people haven't seen it — it wasn't a blockbuster film and it's not one of those "must-see" cult films. It has no chance of going viral. It's just good, solid storytelling in the traditional sense.

Jayne, it's a different kind of movie. It is at times a visceral movie. It let's the images and context tell the whole story.

Roger, the ending is worth the wait. The director nailed the landing, as it were, with his use of cinematic devices (the searchlight, the screen going to white, etc.) that left me lingering over what really happened in the end.

But what I liked most was the simplicity of the storytelling. No dialog to burden it, no extra characters to complicate it. It was refreshing to see — though the story itself creates a sense of dread. But, like I said, the ending is dubious, which makes it float (though everything else is all about sinking : )

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[Jayne Osborn]

Hi Jim,
OMG, it blew me away... I've watched it in two hits today, and I've never seen anything like it before! It's gripping, amazing, ...I could go on with the positive adjectives... so thank you for introducing it to us. I want my husband to see it now, so we can discuss it afterwards.

I didn't find the ending 'dubious', Jim, but I won't say anything more for fear of spoiling it for others. (Let's email each other about it )

Jayne

[Ann Drysdale]

Oh, Lord, that guilt thing is very strong and can be quite upsetting when one's helpless to do anything about it.

I looked it up. I watched the trailer on my laptop. I thought "The Old Man and the Sea".

I understand why there is no dialogue (how could there be?) and Wikipedia has described the ending. I started to think of all the times in my life when I have reframed a hypothetical situation to "make it come right". And when I have decided not to.

I remember reading the Hemingway to my younger brother and sister one day when my mother had gone out somewhere. She came back to find them in floods of tears and asked why - "Annie read us a story and the end was really sad" - and she began berating me for upsetting them. But to my delight the kids stood up for me, insisting "but it was lovely".

My little sister will qualify for her state pension this year but she still remembers that story.

None of which is any help to Jim. Sorry. But I did my best.

[Jim Moonan]

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Annie: "Oh, Lord, that guilt thing is very strong and can be quite upsetting when one's helpless to do anything about it."



Guilt gets a bad rap : ) A little bit of it goes a long way. You just have to be very discriminating as to what to feel guilt about. Otherwise, it will make you miserable. But a little, in the right places, can be restorative. So says the hopelessly hopeful lapsed Catholic : ) Guilt is in the heart of the beholden.

Yes, it is a film of a life and death struggle, but The Old Man and the Sea and All Is Lost are quite different expressions of that struggle. Nor is it Kon Tiki. It stands apart in a number of ways. The most striking difference is the absence of dialog and any other characters other than the one character that Redford plays. I don't even think we learn his name. Which is astounding. We never see land. Every time hope surfaces it is, quite literally, drowned in the reality of hopelessness. It is acted beautifully by Redford, whom I had previously thought a good actor, but not outstanding. He (Redford) is seventy-seven when he performs in this film. I can't imagine doing it at twenty-seven. Yes, I'm sure there were techniques used to dramatize the scenes, but there is no doubt that Redford was put through some pretty hefty physical challenges to pull it off.
Exactly who he is is something of a mystery. You don't know his name, you don't know his past, you don't know why he's in the middle of the Indian Ocean, you don't know what kind of sea-faring experience he has (although you have to assume he has considerable just by virtue of the fact t that he's alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean and able to use maps and nautical tools and is quite resourceful when faced with relentless life-threatening danger).

I suppose the thing that most absorbed me was the acting performance. I also think it was expertly filmed and directed. For a person to hold command of the viewer from start to finish without uttering a word, with using only situational facial expressions, body language, etc. to tell a deeply moving story about survival, isolation, life and death is no small feat. It awakes a kind of existential tug-of-war in me. At least during the time I watched it and thought about it. I quite easily slipped back into my usual deferential, happy-go-lucky self to write this

Here's the wiki page just for the movie in case anyone else is interested.

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