Cast Away (2000)

Cast Away is an epic masterpiece about the solitude of being stranded on a tropical island and the emotional fortitude that is required to survive alone for the indefinite future. Tom Hanks masterfully carries the movie as the sole person on screen for 90% of its running length. Our story begins as Tom's character, a FedEx field manager who lives by the stopwatch, unwittingly shares his final words with his wife (Helen Hunt) before catching a company plane for Russia. The incident that precipitously brings the plane down is monumentally realistic. (Only the opening scenes of the pilot episode of Lost come close.) The rest of the movie is quite a Zen thing -- so stark and candid about one castaway's disappointments and determination that a description wouldn't do it justice. The final 10% of the movie is crisp as an apple with nostalgia and melancholy and Helen Hunt's performance is gripping. I love the ending's few loose threads. If you want to be moved to the core of your soul, see this movie! 5 stars.