Cast Away Academy Award Nominated Film Starring Tom Hanks

Cast Away is one of the renowned Hollywood movies about a FedEx employee who is lost in an island without habitation after a plane crash. Starring Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt in the lead roles, the movie shows how a man survives on his own in an unknown place, with little hope of returning back to normal life.

Cast Away begins with the scene where a FedEx truck is shown delivering a package with the logo of angels wings and as the package is delivered, the film shifts location to the Moscow branch of FedEx, where one of its executives, Chuck Noland played by Tom Hanks tries to improve the performance of the branch. On Christmas he is shown to return home to the US, to his girlfriend named Kelly Frears, played by Helen Hunt, and they promise to get married as Chuck presents her with an engagement ring. However, their togetherness is interrupted by an urgent business trip.

Unfortunately, Chucks plane crashes and he finds himself in an uninhabited island, with no trace of life. Survival becomes extremely difficult for him and he drinks coconut water to quench his thirst. Later he stores rain water in discarded husks. He inhabits on palm tree trunks and caves in the island. Though his need for shelter and drinking water is solved to a certain extent, he cannot find food and is highly unsuccessful in catching fish. After some time the movie Cast Away, shows the body of a pilot washed on to the shore and Chuck takes off his shoes for using it and also taking a flashlight from him.

The FedEx packages also slowly wash ashore and he tries sorting them and using the goods for his personal use, as means of survival. In order to craft spears he uses a pair of ice skaters to cut trees, dresses are used as fishing nets and he makes bed liners with the papers and cardboard packages. Although the film Cast Away shows him opening numerous packages, only the package with the angels wings logo remains unopened. He spends 4 years in the island without hope of going back to the US and makes a volleyball his friend, which he names Dr. Wilson.

Finally, Chuck is successful in making a raft and is rescued by a cargo freighter. He goes back to find Kelly married and as his office staff gives a party in his honor, he understands how difficult life was in the island. The last part of Cast Away shows him delivering the unopened package to its owner and the last scene shows him advancing in a direction towards which the wind is blowing.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Cast Away was critically acclaimed all over and received nominations for 2 Oscar Awards. It won several awards along with nominations in prestigious awards such as the Golden Globe, BAFTA, Academy Awards etc. Cast Away