All Is Lost

Redford is great and this film shows how such a simple idea with one actor can work. As a filmmaker, it was interesting to see how a dialogue-free movie can work visually with a story that reminded me of Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." For me, the story was a metaphor or allegory for life and our struggles. Cinematography was good, shot on the Arri Alexa, one of the hot cameras at the moment. The lack of dialogue and having only one actor made it a meditation for me on the visual elements. I hope Redford gets Oscar nomination. I'm inspired that a veteran like Redford had confidence in Chandor to go on this experimental film journey together.

An underrated film here and, even though the reviews were strong upon initial release, kind of critically forgotten too. It wasn't big during the Oscars. Which is a shame, because this is one of my favorite films from 2013, and one of my favorite Redford performances. Perhaps I just have a thing for films with spare dialogue, and if there's almost no dialogue then even better (WALL·E is my favorite Pixar film, and Eraserhead and the works of Edward Yang are some of my favorites of all time). But other things this film has going for it are its attention to detail and its beautiful score. The great thing is that the protagonist isn't helpless. On the contrary, he's actually a very experienced seaman. So all the fun is watching Redford's character trying to put all his knowledge to the test to try to survive. It's a very intelligent, plucky film. Why it's sort of forgotten now I don't know.

Here we follow a solo sailor who experiences an extraordinary run of bad luck. We follow in detail his attempts to extricate himself. Right from the beginning, the life-threatening accidents that befall him seem insurmountable, but he is a tough man who attempts to deal with them one after the other. It becomes a grim battle for survival.

You do not need to be a sailor to enjoy this movie. And indeed if you are a sailor, apparently you won't enjoy it, as shown by the numerous wealthy reviewers lambasting the film because of the technical sailing details. Apparently a lot of rich old guys think they could have done better than the character in this film.

If you're not much of a sailor (like me), you'll spend a good deal of time wondering what he's doing and marveling at his self reliance. I don't know whether the sailing part was realistic. To enjoy the movie, it doesn't matter. It all seemed bone-crunchingly realistic, although at one point I did wonder whether an exhausted 77-year-old has the strength to haul himself up the side of a sailboat like that.

This is an unusual film for several reasons.

First, there is almost no dialogue. You can watch it with the sound off.

Second, it is set completely on two vessels in the Indian Ocean, but the camera almost never scans the horizon. We rarely actually see the sea or the entire boat. Sometimes there are several astonishing shots of the boat from underneath. All this gives the film a strangely claustrophobic feel, despite its maritime setting.

Third, the protagonist is a taciturn, very competent sailor who also happens to be a man in his late 70s. The movie has nothing to say, but yet much to say, about old age.

This movie is like "Gravity" in that it depicts a human being in extremis. The main character is not the sailor, but Fate. The sea represents a brutal and uncaring universe. Like "Gravity", the ultimate message is: when sh*t happens you can lie down and give up, or you can deal with it. The choice is up to you. Most of us have a hard time with that because it's easier to curse Fate and condemn the universe as unfair.

This is one to watch, especially if you have watched and enjoyed Cast Away. To be honest I did not expect to like it so much, knowing the type of movie this is. It is really fascinating though to realise how well this movie goes on based purely on one man's resourcefulness. The pace of the film is great with the action scenes keeping me on the edge of my seat. Redford in his late 70s gives a truly solid performance confronting his misadventures with extreme calmness and pure dignity. The character gives real time lessons on how to survive under such dire circumstances. A film dedicated to mortality. Quite different from what you may have seen in related films. I definitely recommend it!

Robert Redford now an elder certainly in the final years of his acting time and life gives a performance to remember. And that's just a turn as a plain sailor man who without a name and really he has no words to say during the film! It proves that actions speak louder than words! Anyway "All is Lost" is a moving film of one man's will and determination to stay alive as the scenes show the forces of mother nature can put us at our strongest as a human will resort to many methods for the chance to live. The film is a tale of a sea collision involving a shipping container at sea. And Robert Redford is the sailor man at sea in the Indian ocean on the yacht when a powerful storm that's very violent hits the high sea. By watching you see how it's one character's struggle to survive and live. It proves that you should never give up it takes a lot of courage and will to live as just like the high sea life too is a violent storm many times. Overall this picture doesn't do many words it's actions of a struggle for life speaks the loudest and Redford in his wise age perhaps gives his strongest and smartest performance.