[yasr_overall_rating]
A cataclysmic event causes a man, who dreams of winning the lottery, to become stranded on an island with his co-workers.
“The Island” begins with voice-overs by NASA warning of a potential meteorite strike on earth that goes largely unheeded. Seemingly oblivious to the threat, a modern-day high tech firm departs on a team-building field trip when things suddenly go awry. While at sea on a pleasant excursion in a small amphibious bus, the meteorite actually does make an impact, causing a monstrous tsunami. In the course of the melee, the bus driver and passengers somehow survive the huge wave and wash up on a deserted tropical island.
Starring, co-written and directed by Huang Bo, “The Island” attempts to show how society might revert to more primitive forms in the event of a global natural disaster. The members of the stranded party consist of the company CEO, his employees, and the bus driver who works for an unaffiliated business establishment.
The islanders’ initial hope is to be rescued, although the group has no way of knowing whether enough of civilization remains intact elsewhere. As the days turn into weeks, and then into months, the castaways must learn to cope with their radically different, insulated environment.
The islanders undertake the usual first steps by looking for sources of food and water. With those basic problems solved, the next priority apparently is the selection of a leader. Somewhat surprisingly, the bus driver is chosen because of his hunting, gathering and fighting skills. Beyond that, there is not much to commend him for the job.
This formative attempt at structuring society looks very much like a totalitarian regime – heartless and brutal, with everyone required to work in service of the state. The driver, now absolute dictator, insists that food is more important than dignity.
Later, in an interesting development, the CEO stumbles upon the sheared half of a shipwrecked freighter situated along the coastline. Although the vessel has capsized, the supplies aboard are largely intact. As if suddenly restored to past glory, the CEO finds himself once again at the top of the pecking order in this small world that begins to resemble a tiny economy. He and his loyalists immediately secede from the main group and take residence aboard the boat. There, they enjoy fine wine, food, and clothing from the ship’s stores.
As some market rules are reintroduced, the pseudo-capitalist economy aboard the ship thrives. Money takes the form of playing cards – the denominations associated with the numbers. Later, in true capitalist fashion, we learn that the CEO has kept hidden a separate deck of cards so that he is able to increase the “money supply” as the mini-economy expands.
Ma Jin, the lead character, is played by Huang Bo. He and his brother are sort of perpetual losers. Prior to the meteorite strike, Ma Jin learns he has won a life-changing lottery jackpot. After being marooned with the others, however, he has no way of knowing whether he will ever be able to collect the winnings before the ticket’s expiration date, and so his plight in the societal hierarchy remains unchanged after the natural disaster.
Over time, however, Ma Jin realizes that as an isolated society, it can be run by any number of rule-based systems. Using this insight, he transforms the culture of the island into more of a traditional tribal structure using guile and cunning to gain the role of leader. He becomes the “big man” or charismatic force that, as anthropologists have demonstrated, often tenuously command small tribal groups.
Once in charge, Ma Jin experiences both pleasure and anguish. For a variety of reasons – some self-inflicted – hard choices must be made regarding the group’s survival. The film’s final scenes address the question of whether or not global society has survived – in essence, whether the castaways will either be rescued or alternatively, continue to live in their own isolated island culture for generations to come.
The movie probes issues surrounding the nature of what should be important in life. For example, the otherwise useless smartphones become valuable again when Ma Jin and his brother figure out how to recharge them – not for making phone calls (no service on the island) or playing games, but rather for the sentimental pleasure of viewing family photos and videos that had been stored before the meteor strike.
“The Island” offers a useful exploration of possible future regressive social structures that contrast markedly with now common large-scale governmental systems. The film is also a cautionary tale about how people too often live life in unfulfilled longing, regret and haste – essentially just going through the motions as they scramble to cover this month’s bills. Huang Bo reminds us that we should pause occasionally to appreciate the wonder of existence.
In theaters Friday, August 10th
