Cast Away is a 2000 drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as a FedEx employee stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific. The film depicts his attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo.

 

An exploration of human survival and the ability of fate to alter even the tidiest of lives with one major event, Cast Away tells the story of Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a Federal Express engineer who devotes most of his life to his troubleshooting job. His girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt) is often neglected by his dedication to work, and his compulsive personality suggests a conflicted man. But on Christmas Eve, Chuck proposes marriage to Kelly right before embarking on a large assignment. On the assignment, a plane crash strands Chuck on a remote island, and his fast-paced life is slowed to a crawl, as he is miles removed from any human contact. Finding solace only in a volleyball that he befriends, Chuck lived in a remote Pacific island for four years, he slowly becomes transformed both mentally and physically as he attempts to survive. This harrowing personal struggle ultimately brings him to a simple Zen-like understanding of what things in this world -- in his world -- are truly important.

 

Cast Away was filmed on Monuriki, one of the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji. It is in a subgroup of the Mamanuca archipelago, which is sited off the coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. The island became a tourist attraction following the film's release. Although it is identified by Kelly after Chuck's return as being "about 600 miles south of the Cook Islands", there is actually no land between the southern-most Cook Islands of Mangaia and Antarctica.

 

FedEx paid nothing for product placement in the film. FedEx CEO Fred Smith did make an appearance as himself for the scene where Chuck is welcomed back, which was filmed on location at FedEx's home facilities in Memphis, Tennessee. Although the idea of a story based on a FedEx plane crashing gave the company "a heart attack at first", the overall story was seen as positive and the company saw an increase in brand awareness in Asia and Europe following the film's release.

 

Cast Away was acclaimed by critics. The film holds a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was a success at the box office, earning over $429,632,142 worldwide in ticket receipts.

 

Hanks was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 73rd Academy Awards for his critically acclaimed performance.