| The movie that gives the lie to that old collectivist platitude, "No man is an island." Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks), an employee for FedEx, survives a terrifying plane crash and winds up deserted on a small Pacific island. Most of the movie becomes a one-man show as Chuck applies his mind and the meager resources available to secure shelter, food, and eventually, a way off the island.
"Cast Away" dramatizes the amazing efficacy of the human mind and its necessity to survival. The main character is a tragic figure, and the movie doesn't end in a traditionally happy sense. Still, at its conclusion, when Chuck stands at a crossroads with a self-assuring smile, you are left with the sense that despite his encounter with reality at its most cold and uncaring, he still appreciates the choices he has and believes his best days are yet to be lived.
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