The success of any writing form comes when the author/writer knows exactly the subject he or she is talking about, and if they had the knowledge, talent and experienced everything they want to write about, the better is the experience for readers and viewers because it gives credibility to the work. Obviously, one cannot try and live everything that life has to offer, some things can be easily imagined and one doesn't need to suffer profoundly to develop a good writing work but it helps when you go to some extremes in order to create your fiction. I say all that because I discovered this fascinating short documentary that follows screenwriter William Broyles Jr. and his ordeals while developing "Cast Away", idea conceived by leading man Tom Hanks who commissioned Broyles for the task of creating a script revolving a plane crash survivor who gets trapped on a desert island.
Aiming to present a realistic scenario and with several ideas rushing through their heads (which also includes some input by director Robert Zemeckis), Broyles was compelled to encounter survivalist experts who guided him through what to expect to find in similar situations as faced by Chuck Noland (Hanks character) and the main goals, tools and tips for survival...and Broyles was left alone for a period in those circumstances in order to test his own abilities, which he later put into the film.
If that kind of concept isn't amazing then I don't know what is. Here's a writer determined to make a good script, filled with accurate moments and who finds strength and will power to challenge himself in going through the same obstacles and accomplishments his main character goes through while trying to create fire, find food or trying to break coconuts, and the feelings faced by himself that are transported to the character as well; it feels as if Broyles was Chuck for a brief moment. Unfortunately, we only get a glimpse of pictures taken during his "training", there isn't archive footage or videos of his experiences; and most of the film consists of the testimonies from the survivalist experts who gives us insights about what's the most important things in order to stay alive in the wild. Most of what they share with us was used in the film which indicates that Broyles was a good listener too, incorporating their real experiences into the script, creating a great work. A nice documentary, quite valuable, just lacking in depth and the filmed hardship faced by Broyles during his lost in the forest moments. 7/10
