What is your relationship with sea films and water? If there was no water, there would be no culture. All the great civilizations in history came to life in settlements near or near the water. As such, water has become an inseparable part of culture and the only treasure that humanity is constantly seeking. Some communities accepted the seas and oceans as gods and even made vows to them for centuries, some saw the seas as a source of income and drew trade routes.
For example, Ernest Hemingway from our recent history is one of the most important sources of literature, cinema and all branches of art that we can think of, and one of the quickest examples that come to mind. But our main subject is not mythology, but how the seas are handled in our present culture. For this reason, we have chosen the most popular art, namely the movies from the cinema, and presented them to your liking.
1) Cast Away – New Life (2000) | IMDb: 7.8
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Tom Hanks , Helen Hunt, Paul Sanchez
When we say sea movies, one of the most common scenarios that comes to mind is being stranded on an island. Cast Away, in which star actor Tom Hanks plays the leading role, successfully conveyed to the audience the effect of being stranded on an island alone and the effect of this situation on human psychology, despite the cliche scenario.
The character of Chuck, played by Tom Hanks, is planning to marry his girlfriend Kelly, a high-ranking executive at the American shipping company Fedex, who is also a graduate student. While our character was flying to Malaysia, his plane crashes and he is the only survivor and manages to reach a small island. Except for a few things from the plane wreckage, he has no belongings or anyone with him. One of the things that remains of this wreck is the famous soccer ball, which most of us know and is iconic in movie history. If you want to watch a survival movie on the island decorated with humor and good acting, Cast Away is the movie for you.
2) Titanic – Titanic (1997) | IMDb: 7.8
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslett, Billy Zane
When it comes to sea movies, perhaps one of the most impressive love stories; It would be impossible not to add Titanic, which held the record for the world’s highest box office for years (Avatar, which was also owned by James Cameron in 2009, surpassed this record) and decorated these achievements with the Oscar awards it won.
In the movie, a young man from high class, noble and engaged to a man like himself, is traveling on the same ship with Rose, but unlike Rose, with a third class ticket, he is on his way to America, who has a dream in the lower stages of the ship Titanic; that is, the love story of Jack Dawson is told. At the same time, it would not be a lie to say that the film draws attention with its successful underwater scenes. If you want to spend your time crying over a sad love movie, Titanic will provide the amount of tears you need.
3) Finding Nemo – Finding Nemo (2003) | IMDb: 8.1
Director: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
Cast: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres
We wanted to add an animated film to the list, and one of the most beautiful animated films set at sea is undoubtedly Finding Nemo, which later turned into a series with Finding Dori. I’m sure those born in the 90s will remember how big of a hit this movie was, it became one of the cornerstone movies in the history of animation.
Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken from his home on the Great Barrier Reef to a dentist’s office aquarium. To bring Nemo home, his anxious father Marlin and the friendly but forgetful fish Dory decide to collaborate. Along the way, these two sweet characters meet vegetarian sharks, fellow surfer turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls and more, and we watch their exciting and hilarious adventures.
4) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – Life in Water (2004) | IMDb: 7.3
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston
We usually add blockbusters to the list, but nautical movies aren’t just made for high box office revenues. An example of this is master director Wes Anderson; We can see it in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. We can say that the film has a much more artistic and independent cinematic narrative than the other films we have added to the list. The absurd characters and events that we encounter in Wes Anderson’s other films frequently show themselves in this film as well.
In the film, oceanographer Steve Zissou vows to avenge the rare shark that devoured a member of the submarine’s crew. In addition to his regular crew, he is joined by Ned, a man who believes Zissou is his father, on his boat, and Jane, a pregnant journalist from a married man. While traveling at sea, they encounter various people from Zissou’s past, including his long-lost wife Eleanor, sometimes with pirates and sometimes more traumatically.
5) Life of Pi – Life of Pi (2012) | IMDb: 7.9
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain
Life of Pi, which was one of the most talked about marine films of its time with four Oscars, came to the fore with its different storytelling. The film tells the story of an Indian boy named Pi, the son of a zoo keeper, who finds himself in a rowboat with a hyena, zebra, orangutan and Bengal tiger after a shipwreck left them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.
In this situation where our main character finds himself, he makes different efforts not to become a meal of the Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, while many different events happen to these two characters struggling to survive. Another remarkable feature of the film is that despite the successful performance of Suraj Sharma, who plays the lead role, it is actually his first acting experience.
6) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) | IMDb: 8.0
Director: Gore Verbinski
Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
The Pirates of the Caribbean series, which Disney has made into a multimillion-dollar franchise, is another of the first films that come to mind when it comes to nautical movies. Johnny Depp’s memorable performance as the crazy captain Jack Sparrow is also from the same series. The Curse of the Black Pearl is the first film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series and, according to most movie authorities, the most successful. The series has five films so far, and Disney announced that the sixth one will be shot, although the title and date are unknown.
18 in the movie. Jack Sparrow, a freelance pirate from the 19th century, argues with a rival pirate determined to sack Port Royal. When the governor’s daughter is kidnapped, Sparrow decides to help her love save him.
7) Waterworld – World of Water (1995) | IMDb: 6.2
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Cast: Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dennis Hopper
Waterworld, which has become one of the most controversial films in the history of cinema and one of the unforgettable sea films of the 90s, should definitely be on the list. Despite its huge budget, Waterworld is judged ruthlessly by most movie critics; In fact, contrary to the critics, it also has a huge fan base. If you are a fan of the so-called B movie, Waterworld is a movie you should definitely watch.
In a futuristic world where the polar ice caps are melting and making the Earth a liquid planet, a beautiful bartender rescues a mutant sailor from a floating island prison. But with them came the little girl named Enola, and Enola has one of the most precious treasures to be found in this futuristic world. This situation will not fail to cause all sorts of problems to our heroes.
8) In the Heart of the Sea – In the Middle of the Sea (2015) | IMDb: 6.9
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson
In the early 1800s, one of the major resources of pioneers who had just moved to America was to sail out into the vast oceans and catch huge whales. While this is an occurrence in literature and many American folk tales, it is cited as one of the major factors in why such a small number of lovely marine mammals, now endangered, remain.
Our film, on the other hand, is about a group of American sailors during this period; It’s about his embarking on a dangerous journey that takes days, as whale numbers are now decreasing on the shore and they are beginning to be seen in distant seas. In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex is attacked by something that no one can believe: a whale of enormous size that no one has ever seen before, and a human sense of vengeance of almost the same magnitude. The movie has elements of high tension in some places, especially if you want to feel your fear of the open sea or the deep sea, you will enjoy the movie very much.
9) Triangle – Devil’s Triangle (2009) | IMDb: 6.9
Director: Christopher Smith
Cast: Melissa George, Joshua McIvor, Jack Taylor
We also wanted to include one low-budget (compared to the other films on the list, of course) thriller on the list. Of course, we know that there are many people who are interested in this genre, and even those who only research this genre of movies are among us. The pleasure of such films is really something else, sometimes people just want to distract themselves, not quality. The distraction movie on this list is definitely Triangle.
In the movie, the lead character, Jess, sails on a yacht with a group of young friends, but can’t get over the feeling that something is wrong. When the yacht encounters a storm and the group has to board a passing ocean liner to keep their lives safe, their suspicions are not dispelled. Jess realizes that she has been on this ship before; even realizes that it has been found many times, and repetitive events develop for our heroes.
10) On Board (1998) | IMDb: 8.0
Director: Serdar Akar
Cast: Erkan Can, Haldun Boysan, Yıldıray Şahinler
We can say that the sea and maritime have an important place in American and European cinema, and just as valuable for our cinema culture. From this part of the list, we will continue with Turkish sea films. Probably the most famous of these, and a member of Turkish cinema that shined with masterpieces such as Eşkıya in the 90s, Gemide is a very successful drama. At the same time, his unforgettable dialogues are still circulating in the languages.
A group of sailors just want to stay warm, sincere and full of lies in their little world, but when they kidnap a prostitute, everything on the ship suddenly changes. Our heroes have to face problems they never expected.
11) Ivy (2015) | IMDb: 8.1
Director: Tolga Karacelik
Cast: Nadir Saribacak, Hakan Karsak, Ozgur Emre Yildirim
Sarmaşık is one of the most important films of Tolga Karaçelik, who made us proud by bringing the Sundance award he won for his movie Butterflies to our country. In fact, the film is often compared to On the Ship in terms of its story. As you can imagine, both movies take place on the ship. But actually, Tolga Karaçelik presented us a much more modern story in Sarmaşık.
An already cranky crew on a Turkish freighter with no pay for months arrives in an Egyptian port and learns that the Port Authority has placed a lien on them. On the ship ordered to moor in the open, the passports of the remaining crew are confiscated and the owner is told that they must hold the ship until their debts are paid. Tensions quickly escalate between the domineering Cypriot captain, his religious sidekick, a friendly cook, and three newcomers on board (a pair of drug addicts and an almost dumb, burly Kurd). . As the months pass, food and fun dwindle, alliances change, and the men take out their raw disappointments from each other.
12) Rare Life | IMDb: 6.4
Directed by: Cagan Irmak
Cast: Demet Akbağ, Alican Akdogan, Sevil Aki
We didn’t want to finish the list without using a movie with a female lead. Demet Akbağ, the master actress of the years, is working with the master director Çağan Irmak in this movie. In terms of the subject of the film, we can say that it is a very feminist film by Turkish film standards. Nadide, our lead role in the movie, finds herself in a great void when she suddenly loses her husband of 30 years. He tries to fill this gap with other activities and hobbies every day. But one day, none of these things are enough for her and Nadide, who wants to prove herself, decides to complete her unfinished university life by taking advantage of an amnesty. Between all this, Nadide finds herself in the middle of the sea with a mysterious captain and events develop.
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