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Adrift opens across Taiwan on 8/24. From the stills and trailers alone, it's immediately clear that this is a disaster-romance film. Director Baltasar Kormákur has earned widespread critical acclaim over the years — his 2015 film Everest, which he directed and produced, was even selected as the opening film of the Venice Film Festival. He has a gift for using the raw power of nature to illuminate the subtle depths of human emotion. The superb performances of leads Sam Claflin and Shailene Woodley bring audiences fully into the sense of helplessness that tiny, fragile human beings feel when confronted by nature's fury.
My Thoughts on Adrift
Beyond the film's stunning ocean vistas, romantic sailing lifestyle, and breathtaking special effects, what else is worth appreciating about Adrift? Before sharing my own thoughts, let's first hear how Ray and his partner from the Offshore Life sailing studio felt about the film.
Highlight One: The Romance of the Sea
In the film, the female lead asks why the male lead chooses to sail the world alone. He answers that crossing the horizon gives him a feeling of being reborn. When the Editor read that line, it resonated deeply. For many divers and sailing enthusiasts, the ocean has become far more than just a sport — it's an opportunity to shed the pressures of everyday life. Even if every dive or every voyage takes place in the same waters with the same scenery, each time the ocean moves us it has already risen to something emotional, something beyond words. No wonder so many people describe those who love the sea as being utterly "sea-struck."
Highlight Two: A Richly Detailed Portrait of Life at Sea
Ray from Offshore Life studio shared with us that, having had the chance to board an ocean-crossing sailboat himself, he found that the film captures many authentic details of life aboard: the books and guitar stowed in the cabin, for instance, are exactly the kind of comforts a crew member relies on during a long ocean passage. The rolled nautical chart pinned to the side is the navigator's trusted companion — though modern technology has largely replaced paper charts with digital ones, maps are still often hung on the cabin wall, with cotton string and pins tracing the planned route. There's a certain romance to that, even in the middle of the open ocean.
After the shipwreck, the female lead uses a sextant to determine latitude and longitude, and a watch to calculate the drift speed of floating debris in order to estimate their rate of travel. These are exactly the kind of primitive yet effective improvised methods sailors fall back on when electronic instruments fail. Through the film's depiction of these techniques, audiences can gain a basic and fascinating introduction to the art of seamanship.
Highlight Three: Belief Is the Foundation for Overcoming Everything
From the trailers, it's clear this is a disaster film — the two leads adrift at sea for days on end. On the surface it may sound similar to Life of Pi, and indeed it's not entirely different in spirit. Since Everest, director Kormákur has consistently used the overwhelming force of nature to expose the fragility of the human condition: the choices people make when their own survival is at stake, the will to keep fighting against impossible odds. In Adrift, the focus shifts from the couple's initial optimism during their drift, to the panic that sets in as food and water run out, and finally to the profound helplessness of hallucination. The leads' masterful performances take us through what feels like a real ocean survival ordeal. Ultimately, the message is this: no matter what adversity we face in life, belief is the foundation for overcoming everything.
Many people walk out of the cinema asking: is sailing or yachting really that terrifying? In reality, this film is based on the true story of Tami Oldham, set in 1983. Thirty-five years on, seamanship has advanced enormously — precise weather forecasting systems, onboard watermakers, and more reliable emergency distress beacons all make ocean voyages safer and more manageable than ever. In Taiwan, where attitudes toward ocean sports remain comparatively cautious, we genuinely hope more people will consider booking a sailing or yachting trip — to discover Taiwan's beauty from a completely different perspective. Don't let fear be the reason you miss the chance to get close to the sea.
Adrift — Film Information
English Title: Adrift
Chinese Title: 我願意
Language: English
Runtime: 97 minutes
Country of Origin: USA
Rating: PG
Release Date: August 24, 2018
Genre: Drama / Romance
Official Website: http://theatrical.catchplay.com/Movies/adrift
CatchPlay Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/catchplay/
Director: Baltasar Kormákur (Everest, Contraband, 2 Guns)
Cast:
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Sam Claflin (Me Before You, The Hunger Games series, Love, Rosie)
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Shailene Woodley (Divergent series) Golden Globe Award Nomination – Best Supporting Actress
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Jeffrey Thomas (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
★ Me Before You's Sam Claflin × The Fault in Our Stars's Shailene Woodley — Setting Sail on a Sea of Love
★ After Titanic, a New Classic of Romantic Disaster — Caught in a Storm at Sea, Protecting the One You Love — For You, I'd Give Everything
★ The Director of Everest Returns — The Mightiest Hurricane in Pacific History and a Deeply Moving Love Story Shake the Big Screen
★ Based on a True Story — The Most Harrowing Adventure of a Lifetime — A Miraculous Love That Survived the Storm
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