Cast Away (2000): Hope During Hard Times

An uplifting scene about endurance and faith in life

Cast Away is a movie about a man stranded on an island and his return to the woman he loves.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Chuck is recounting how the tragedy impacted his romantic relationship to his friend, Stan. How Kelly had to let him go after his plane crashed and enough time passed. And how Chuck, after trying to commit suicide, knew he had to stay alive. Not just for the hope of seeing Kelly again, but for the hope that comes from a new day.

The scene starts at 2:08:27 in the movie.

INT. STAN's LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CHUCK
I had power over nothing. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow, I had to keep breathing, even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day that logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, gave me a sail. And now here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass. 

He looks down at his glass.

CHUCK
(eyes glassy)
And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I've gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring.

After a period of intense suffering, you experience clarity. And with this clarity comes a message from the purest part of existence. Chuck experienced this clarity, this “warm blanket” feeling, after trying to kill himself. This feeling gave him hope. This feeling is challenged when he returns home and learns that Kelly is married, but he remembers what he learned from his experience on the island: to keep breathing and not lose hope.

In 2019 my will to live was challenged. But, when I was in the emergency room bed, the warm blanket feeling came over me. It told me to keep breathing, that the sun would rise and the tide would bring in many more good things. Unexpected things. Over the years, this feeling has been challenged. But I remember truths associated with that feeling during hard times. That life is worth living. That gratitude is essential for moving forward. And that the best is yet to come. Believing in these truths and enduring has brought me here, a good place. Now it’s time to open myself up to all the goodness. Like how Chuck opened himself up, followed the butterfly, and met Bettina.

Which challenge did you recently experience, and what gave you hope?