Wonderfully offbeat film!

Instant Favorite.

i must have seen a different film!!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This is based upon a true storyIn 1989 four men set sail from Picton, NZ to Tonga in a Trimaran Yacht (google it) when a Rogue Wave capsizes the boat upside down and 119 days later they land on the Great Barrier Island. We have heard of Rogue Agents in spy movies, but a Rogue Wave? Actually, there is such a thing and it can also actually endanger large ships. (You googled it, right?)Of the 4-men on board only one, the owner of the boat, John (Peter Feeney) was a seasoned sailor and everything he owned was tied up into the boat called the Rose Noelle. The others Jim (Dominic Purcell), Rick (Owen Black), and Phil (Greg Johnson) were along for the adventure and had family who learned later there was no hope of a rescue as no search party could locate them. John had no family and the boat was all that he had. Of course, there were bumps along the way and they had to learn to work together to survive. The most important item a licensed marine radio was not on board as John didn't want to endure the expense, and, of course, this set the others against him in a heart beat. The photography was sensational as was the acting by all. Nothing was overdone. They learned how to capture fish and Phil remarked that they had so much food, they should have others over and this brought on a few chuckles. At one point they spied a sailing ship in the distance and tried to send smoke signals, which didn't work. I wondered why they didn't use mirrors glinting off the sun that would be seen even at a great distance. Why indeed?At the end, when they told their story government officials did not believe them nor did the New Zealand populace for the most part. How could they survive 119 days without anyone seeing them? It wasn't possible they said. The government launched an investigation. Over all this was a very enjoyable true story. Watch to the end to see what happened to all of them. John, who lost everything probably wrote the story that became this movie. If there is a lesson to be learned it is: make sure there is a good marine radio on board should you venture out onto the high seas. You just never know. (7/10)Violence: Not really. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Some in the beginning, then it went away.

This film is based on a true story, which makes it very interesting. It's a survival tale set on top of a giant collection of water we call the ocean.The production is convincing and maintains immersion. I thought the casting was perfect, and the actors do an excellent job conveying their characters.I scored the film high because I felt it presented different aspects of the human spirit which is observed through the characters response and interaction to the situation, themselves and each other. There is no waste or filler in the film, everything is well paced and contributes to the story which is well written.I love stumbling on rare gems like this.

In 1989 the trimaran Rose Noelle set sail from Picton, New Zealand, for Tonga with four men on board. After a freak wave turned the boat upside down, they drifted for 119 days before landing on Great Barrier Island. Abandoned is a very good well made low budget movie with some nice performances and an interesting story that will captivate the audience is looking for the problems are that there isn't a lot of dramatic moments like for example Cast Away or some other survival movies were you might cry or it's just a beautiful journey where some guy or people try to survive in order to come home. Like i said it lacks on dramatic depth but as an adventure it has a lot of good things in it survival, sharks, people loosing their minds and more.

But this was entertaining in a made for television genre . I never have ten lines of info to say about a film . So the rest of this review will be something that has nothing to do with this movie .At the age of two, Dominic and his family moved from England to Sydney's Bondi and then moved to the Western Suburbs. After becoming a landscape gardener, he soon tired of the profession and, whilst watching the war movie Platoon (1986), decided to become an actor. Due to his working-class background, acting seemed a very unlikely choice of career, so he didn't pursue it until sometime later. He studied at The Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) and then later enrolled at the Western Australian Academy of Performing arts where he met his future wife Rebecca and studied with Hugh Jackman.In 1997, Dominic scored a role in the TV series Raw FM (1997) and then landed a part in Mission: Impossible II (2000), which was filmed in Australia. He was soon spotted by a US talent scout and went off to LA. Since then, Dominic has been working constantly with roles in the movie Equilibrium (2002), the TV show John Doe (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), and in the upcoming thriller Three Way (2004) and a new police television drama, Strut. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Aeryn