Welcome back to Movie Recaps. Today I will show you a 2014 drama film based on true story,
titled Against the Sun. Spoilers ahead! Watch out and take care.
In the year 1942, the USA Navy is ready to attack Japan as revenge for what happened on Pearl Harbor
by sending torpedo bombers and fighter planes over the South Pacific. On January sixteenth, pilot and
chief Harold Dixon, bombardier Tony Pastula, and radioman Gene Aldrich are on a patrol mission
when they find themselves separated from the other aircraft and unable to get their bearings. Dixon
thinks they should get back to their carrier, but Gene discovers they're out of reception,
and they're running low on fuel. Tony drops the bombs in the sea in order to gain altitude,
but it isn't of much help, and since they still can't get communications working,
Dixon decides he'll make an emergency landing before they lose all fuel and crash.
The plane lands safely on the water and Dixon comes out with his life jacket on, dragging the
life raft behind him, but his men aren't doing so well. They're having trouble ditching their seats
and even almost drown, only managing to get out at the last second, which means they don't get
to grab supplies before the plane sinks. Dixon and Gene drop their weapons, too, so it's easier for
them to float, but Tony is stuck with his. After some struggle, they manage to inflate the raft,
although it's upside down. By tying their life jackets together and throwing them over the raft,
they create a handle that allows them to pull and turn the raft over so they can finally climb on
it. Now they just have to wait to be found. The next morning, Dixon and Gene exchange a few words
over what happened, each man indirectly implying the other may've done something wrong. Seeing as
such conversation takes them nowhere, they decide to take watch and stay alert in case a plane comes
by. Turns out they're in luck and a plane does fly nearby a few hours later, but it doesn't come
close enough to see them, even when they take off their shirts and wave them around as they yell.
The plane leaves soon, and Dixon explains this was their only chance: the plane was on a box search
and won't break course that could risk them into enemy territory - the war is more important than
three soldiers. Procedure says one quick look is all they get. Thinking of their survival,
Dixon declares the raft to be a ship of the USA navy and him her captain, so Tony and Gene will
be following his orders. They take inventory of the things they have in their pockets, but
it's not much: mostly a bunch of tools and random things like wires, plus an empty water bag. Gene
also has a knife that Dixon orders to be kept in his pocket to avoid the risk of cutting the raft.
To protect the raft and avoid wearing it off, Dixon also orders them to take off their shoes and
throw them in the ocean, but he doesn't throw his own, which irritates Gene. The hours and the days
begin passing as the soldiers try their best not to let the isolation drive them crazy. They chat
about various topics, sometimes even sing to keep themselves entertained. Tony obsessively cleans
his gun, but also promises Gene he'll introduce him to his sister since they'd make a wonderful
couple. The sun is scorching during the day so they little by little lose each layer of clothing,
gaining blisters on their skin. The nights are cold, and when they sleep,
they're haunted by nightmares involving drowning or the guilt of the possible mistake that got them
in this situation in the first place. The three of them don't sleep at the same time though: one
always stays awake and they take turns to watch in case they find a plane or an island. It's during
one of these watches that Dixon decides to relieve himself in his own shoe and drink his own pee to
at least try to satiate his thirst a little. One morning, when they feel a nice breeze moving the
boat along, Dixon makes some calculations to have a vague idea of where they are heading. There's a
chance they'll reach some islands, but it'll be weeks before that happens, so Gene decides he
wants to try fishing to avoid starving to death. With some wire and cord, they make a hook that
they throw into the sea, but whatever bites is strong. Tony has to help Gene pull back, and when
they finally recover the end of the line, the hook is gone, reminding them there are some dangerous
creatures out there. But Gene doesn't give up, he just makes a new hook and throws it again,
leaving it in the water as long as necessary. Eventually though, the heat gets on his nerves,
so he puts on the life jacket and jumps off the boat to freshen up. Tony wants to go after him,
but Dixon says they should do it one at a time for safety. He also reminds them there are sharks in
these waters which scares Gene into swimming back onto the raft and Tony into refusing to
jump in next after all. As days continue to pass, tension grows among the men, and Dixon's paranoia
makes him keep on asking his men what happened on the plane, as if trying to find someone to blame
for their situation. Thirst is also starting to be a problem, and Tony thinks he could perhaps
have at least a sip of seawater, but Dixon stops him before he does something stupid. Gene comments
on how many more shoes they may fill with the "yellow stuff" when he's suddenly interrupted by
Dixon crying out in triumph: he's found a pencil in his pocket that he had overlooked before.
Now he can draw a chart and keep an eye on the direction they're heading: if they want
to reach the island, they need to keep the wind in their favor. Using one of the life jackets,
some cord, and some wire, they make a sea anchor, this way they can avoid being blown the wrong way
if the wind shifts. The other problem continues to be their thirst. Gene teaches the other two how to
pray and ask God for rain, but it isn't until later in the night that the weather changes.
Laughing in happiness, the men collect as much rainwater as they can on their shirts
and the water bag. After a week of being adrift, Gene finally gets tired of failing at catching
anything with his hook, so he takes out his knife, ignoring Dixon's protests and worry over the raft.
After a few random stabs at the water, Gene is successful in a big way: he's managed to kill a
shark, which they bring onto the raft and open to eat the little fish it recently consumed.
They save the shark meat in their socks to be used as bait later. This little dinner of
theirs though, has some serious consequences: because they keep throwing the shark blood into
the sea to keep the raft clean, other sharks have smelled it and are now following them around. So
when one night, a sleepy Gene distractedly puts his hand in the water, it gets bitten. Luckily,
he takes it out before he loses it and Dixon wraps it up with Tony's bandana, but the damage is done.
Two weeks since the accident have passed, and while they haven't gotten another catch like
the shark, they do get one more day of rain to refill their water bag. Hope is starting
to be hard to keep, and Tony begins looking at his gun with some depressing thoughts in mind.
Gene takes it from him just in time when a bird lands on their raft and shoots it,
causing the body to fall into the ocean. Dixon wastes no time jumping in to recover it, but the
bird's blood has gotten the attention of a shark as well. The boys try to shoot it but the gun gets
jammed, so Dixon has no choice but to swim as fast as he can. Luckily, he makes it back to the raft
before he gets caught, and now they have bird meat to eat, which Dixon thinks tastes like chicken.
Since the gun can't be used anymore, Tony throws the bullets in the ocean,
sad over what a sign of defeat this could be taken as. On the morning of day twenty, Dixon wakes up
to discover all three of them have been sleeping, so there's been no watch. Gene thinks it's not
worth the trouble, it's been two days with no wind and the islands aren't coming any closer.
He calls out Dixon for his map, not understanding how he could've calculated their position anyway
if their plane had been lost and they didn't even know what their starting point had been. He also
thinks it's Dixon's fault that the plane got lost because somehow he had flown them out of range.
After lots of arguing and yelling, Dixon admits he had been expecting to see islands a couple of
days ago, so yes, their course is off. His memory finally kicks in and he remembers what happened on
the plane: he had fallen asleep. It was only a couple of minutes, but still enough for them to
miss their turn. He apologizes for his mistake, knowing he will never be able to make up for it.
A depressing mood falls over the raft, so trying to make things better, Gene picks
up the chart and says that while it may not be perfect, it's their only hope to return home.
When Tony makes a joke about producing their own wind, Dixon gets an idea: using Gene's knife,
he cuts off the soles of his shoes, which they proceed to use to row. A month after the incident,
they finally get some rain again. Except this isn't average rain: it's a full raging storm
with lightning included. The waves grow high and aggressive, and they end up turning the raft over.
The men fall in the water and lose the few tools they had, including their rowing shoes, but the
raft is more important. They find each other by holding onto it and together with the help
of the wind, they flip the raft back on position before climbing on it, huddling close for warmth
until the storm passes. The rain is gone in the morning, but the men are too tired to do anything
else other than laying down. Having lost all hope, their conversation turns depressing: they discuss
what to do with the body if one of them dies since it could be food, remember the people at
home that believe them to be dead, and make Dixon cry when Tony and Gen say they wouldn't have sent
him to court-martial for his mistake. Tired of this somber mood and thinking they've come too
far to give up now, Tony convinces his friends to row with their hands to at least go down trying.
This tires them out so much that Dixon does what he said they wouldn't, which is drinking seawater,
and Tony falls asleep so deeply that for a moment they believe him to be dead.
Suddenly, Gene sits up when he sees something green in the distance: they've finally found an
island. Desperate enough not to care if it's taken by the enemy and with tears in their eyes, the men
begin rowing with their hands until they reach the shore waves that push them the last stretch
of the way onto the beach. The three of them land on the sand safely, and as soon as they see two
shacks nearby, they make their way there on shaky legs. This landing happens on February twentieth,
after thirty-four days spend lost at sea and sailing their raft for more than a thousand miles.
After they get rescued, Dixon is awarded the navy cross for leading his crew into
safety but never flies another combat mission again. Because of his injuries,
Tony can't pursue the navy as a career as he wanted, and when he dies in 1986, his ashes
are scattered at sea. Gene serves out the war as a radioman and in 1946, he marries Tony's sister.