Romance on a deserted island quickly gives way to a dangerous struggle for survival in True Castaways, a searing account of a couple battling the elements in one of the most remote places on Earth.
For Martin Popplewell, it all started with Blue Lagoon, the sun-soaked 1980 teen fantasy starring Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields. Popplewell was 15 when he first saw the film, and he was obsessed with it. “I was drawn to two teenagers who grew up in a tropical paradise and fell in love,” Popplewell recalls in the documentary. “Scenes from this film inspired me to find my own desert island and live there with my own Brooke Shields.”
At the age of 18, after nearly three years of preparation, Popplewell was ready to realize his dream. His companion on this adventure is Rachel, the object of his longtime affection. The backdrop will be a scenic stretch of lush vegetation and azure waters off the coast of the Federated States of Micronesia. Armed with radiant enthusiasm, unbreakable drive and the woman of his dreams, Popplewell is about to embark on an adventure he’s only experienced on screen.
The reality they experience is far from the imagination created by Hollywood. The couple has weathered harsh tropical storms, been exposed to dangerous marine life, severe food shortages and severe life-threatening illnesses. The real victims put viewers in the middle of these battles thanks to the daily video logs they kept during their time on the island. When Popplewell and Rachel return to the island after 12 years to look back on their adventures, punctuated by this rich footage of survival, it’s a touching comeback.
They tested the limits of their endurance, built their homes out of the meager resources around them, and forged an unbreakable bond with the Earth and each other. But they’re also tired of being isolated, malnourished and sometimes feeling unhinged. In short, as surprisingly bittersweet as the film is in awe, they experience the full extent of existence on the brink and never feel more alive in the process.
