Tuesday, November 12, 2013

"All Is Lost" movie review

Last week we went to Robert Redford's new movie "All Is Lost" which had good reviews. Unfortunately, as a sailing movie, it has received mixed reviews. We had read there was very little dialogue, only one character, issues with sailing mistakes and the potential to keep sailors' dock lines tied securely to the docks. Well, everything except the last item was true for us. We went into the movie knowing there would be some technical sailing mistakes. This made it easier to ignore the flaws and just enjoy the movie. It was, after all, an hour and a half of Robert Redford, says Brenda.

The movie is more about the will to survive than a sailing disaster. Even so, we kept strategizing throughout, whispering to each other what we thought could/should have been done. The ride home served as an opportunity to use the movie as a case study on what to do when EVERYTHING goes wrong. And we do mean everything.

One of the first things we noted, on the positive side, was how calm he stayed. You could literally see him think through his options, weigh each, and then methodically proceed to attack each obstacle in order of priority. This emphasized the benefit of remaining calm even in the worst of conditions.

A second observation we made was how necessary it is to have the proper safety equipment. No boat should ever leave port without a bucket, just saying. Maybe West Marine could give out logo covered buckets at the trade shows to be sure every boat carries one. Epirb, communication equipment, ditch bag, repair supplies, first aid and backup navigation systems should be readily available.

Overall we recommend it as a movie. After all it IS a sailing movie. So go see it with your sailing partner or another sailor and have fun rehashing the action.

 

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