re: Cast Away movie

The first word out of Hanks' mouth in the movie is, "Time." The last word out of his mouth is, "Thank you." I do not think that is an accident and for me, I think it means our days are a gift, not in our control, and that instead of trying to master time, Hank's character has learned to see ordinary things as miracles, and to have gratitude for the moments he has been given. In between this beginning and end is his transformation. There is a crash; the destruction of his life as he has planned it. All his best intentions and dreams float away from him. He is trapped on an island that he cannot set himself free from. Yet, all along this same journey he is surrounded by the Spirit (in the wings, in the wind, and the air (needed for making fire!). Wings are everywhere in the movie by the way (on the fed ex box, on the plane above him as he flounders in the water, in the shape he cuts from the sides of the portalette for his sail, in the fluke of the whale that appears when he is floating on a boat that has become nothing more than a life-raft). It is the wind and the gift of the tides (grace) which ultimately get him past the breakers and carry him into the path of a random freighter. Hanks' character is being remade in this movie. The physical journey he goes on and the changes you see in his body and in his relationships are matched by what is happening within him emotionally and spiritually. He is not the only one changing. Hunt's character is going through her own difficult journey of transformation too.

TLDR: I think this movie is a metaphor for justification by grace. It teaches that life is fragile, our days are a gift, that the Spirit is with us even when we are alone, and that the crashes we endure may be the place where new life begins.