WHITE SQUALL
A film review by Tim Voon
Copyright 1997 Tim Voon
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, John Savage, Scott Wolf, Jeremy Sisto, Balthazar Getty, Ryan Phillipe, Jason Marsden Director: Ridley Scott Screenplay: Todd Robinson based on the memoirs of Chuck Gieg
It's about a big wave which capsizes a boat killing a wife and some school boys, AND it's a real story.
Not very uplifting, but wait--..
The name of the ship is 'The Albatross', its a solid beautiful vessel, but I kind of thought it looked old and probably would not have allowed my child to go sailing half way around the world in it; but hey some parents are real crazy right.
The idea of studying as you travel is any school boys dream of having a great bludge, but these boys do actually learn some important lessons about life, survival and working as a team.
So getting back to this big wave, a meteorological phenomenon known as the 'White Squall' which has the propensity to capsize ships. It strikes swiftly and unsuspectingly like the 'Hand of God', and it does so with such awesome majesty that you almost forget about the people who are drowning. The most touching and memorable scene involves the captain. When unable to rescue his wife, he mouths the words 'I Love You' through the sky light of their cabin as the ship sinks. She can only look up to see her husband float away as she sinks to a watery grave.
I wander whether such educational cruises are still available for school boys today? The responsibility to carry out such a venture must be overwhelming, and I can only imagine the legal nightmares that would eventuate if anybody drowns. After this unusual, tragic occurrence, I'm sure the contracts signed by parents must include a clause which exempts the crew responsibility for their child's life if struck by a "White Squall".
However, this is not were the story ends. The captain never remarries and becomes the leader of a peace movement in South America, whilst the surviving boys are shipped of to Vietnam three years after this tragedy. Amazingly they all return safely. One cannot help but wonder whether the 'Squall' which on one hand claimed the lives of their friends, in the other instilled in them the courage and determination to survive no matter what the circumstance.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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