I have a question maybe someone out there can answer. What is the significance of the angel wings on the package and why does he say in the note at the end that it saved his life? I hope someone can shed some light on this, thanks.

 

Maybe he was saying that the wings illustration gave him the idea to use the Portajohn as a sail.

It's never made sense to me, because if he works for Federal Express, his goal should have been to deliver the package to the recipient not to the sender.

 

The wings were the trademark of the sculpture and yes the inspiration for the sail. They were also a metaphor for his will to live. He returned to sender for 2 reasons:1) After four years package would have been replaced by sender or paid for by insurer. 2) To satisfy a 4 year old curiosity about what the wings meant. Just for reference the package contained a waterproof solar powered satellite phone.

 

You are kidding right

 

That was funny, William. But, just to reiterate, it gave him HOPE! That's what kept him alive (his will to live). Otherwise, he would have given up and died or killed himself. It was also a nice twist because the package led him to that girl - I thought the filmmakers did a good job by leaving the movie open-ended at the end.

They'll probably make a sequel:

Castaway II: Lost in Space
































just kidding

 

On a side note, when I used to work at Sony, I saw them filming Castawy in one of the sound stages. I actually saw Tom hanks on the day they filmed the rescue. One of my coworkers didn't even recognize him since he looked like a bum (long beard and very dirty). They filmed that day in a very large pool with big fans to simulate hurricane force winds. It was very interesting to see the behind the scenes stuff.

 

dear oh dear

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bernie
[B]



dear oh dear

 

I'm still trying to figure out how you can have 360 degrees of bone-crushing big wave surf around an island. Is that even meteorologically and hydrodynamically possible?

Still, a keeper on DVD. As a guy in my early 30s who is now second guessing his career choices and wondering if he should start over, the metaphor we were left with at the end of the film---standing at a crossroads with all the options in the world open to us--is particularly soothing. That chick was hot, too.

 

I don't understand the question about the waves, it was an island - so like any island it has waves coming in from all sides, kind of like the British Isles - but on a smaller scale. The island is just the top of a mountain in the sea - so it depends on the landscape around the island that determines what the wave looks like - not the visible part of the island.