can someone please explain it to me?
and where was his family and the today show and a book deal?
Are you talking about the movie? I’ll assume so.
First, what is it in particular that you don’t understand? I can’t help you without this.
That they didn’t show all the extra things that went along with him coming home doesn’t mean they didn’t exist. The director just chose not to use them. Why didn’t they show him suing FedEx? Why didn’t they show his trips to the psychologist? Why didn’t they show him catching up on current events over the last four years? Heck, the movie was long enough to begin with and those weren’t the issues that needed to be dealt with. The main issues were his relationship with Helen Hunt and how he moved forward with his life.
My impression was that he was supposed to hook up with the girl to whom he delivered the FedEx package. Thusly he fills the void left by Helen Hunt’s absence and can initiate a new life where happiness and joy reign eternal… Of course, that is my somewhat over-romanticized perception but, in any case, finales such as this one are purposely left surrounded by an inconclusive mist for a reason: to allow the viewer to fill in the details as he/she best desires. A clearly defined conclusion is not explicitely presented as it is the director’s intention to permit us, the viewers, to use our imagination and insight to “write” the ending which he deliberately left open to interpretation.
[Hi-Jack]
On a tangent, when a person reinserts himself back into society after their alleged death/disapearence, and their belongings have already being disposed of (given to relatives, taken by the government), what legal claim can the affected individual exercise? Is there a provision in the law that allows this person to receive appropiate compensation? In short, how is this situation dealt with when it arises? Any specific examples of it actually occuring?
[Bye-Jack]
Please let me now, djf750, if my blatant hijack bothers you in any way, so that can I can start a new thread to cover this subject.
I thought it was a terrible movie, and the ending was worse. I was so very close to falling asleep.
Here’s a Cast Away thread http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=52807
I liked the movie and I liked the ending. Wasn’t he at an intersection? So he was at a crossroads. A crossroad of his life. I liked it.
You get stranded on an island for four years, and nobody cares.
Basically, the message of the movie was “Life sucks, and then it sucks some more.” 