All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted. He is an award-winning journalist, an editor of spiritual publications, a popular New Thought speaker, and a lifelong movie buff. On its adventure-filled surface, this film is about a castaway a Federal Express troubleshooter who survives a plane crash and is stranded on a South Pacific island for four years. It's a grand vehicle for Tom Hanks to do his Robinson Crusoe turn.
Hanks does a fine job of showing the resourcefulness of the human spirit.
But there's an important message for modern society beneath the surface of Cast Away , and it's important to note that the film is not titled Castaway but Cast Away . The film, directed by Robert Zemeckis, opens with the almost manic Chuck instructing FedEx employees in Moscow about the importance of time in meeting carrier deadlines. Sure, the man has to work like most of us, but it's obvious that work and time dedicated to work have become the driving motivations in Chuck's life. After being alone on the island for some time, Chuck ruefully recalls his words about time. He's aware of a new dimension to time and of time's lost opportunities.