It happened at sea

MANILA, Philippines - It’s always fascinating to see films that are set in a single location. It could be in a place, like an island, in the middle of the sea or ocean, or could also be in open air, such as those set on planes. It is truly interesting watching such movies, especially seeing the characters fight for survival. One of the favorite settings of filmmakers is at sea. While no one wishes to be stranded there, such movies surely catch viewers’ attention. Here are some of the famous ones:

Titanic. Who could ever forget the movie about the giant “unsinkable” ship that ended in tragedy? And of course, who would dare forget the love story of Jack and Rose? Obviously, the setting of the movie is mostly on the luxurious ship, isolating the passengers from the rest of the world as they travel at sea — until…

Life of Pi. After a storm hits the cargo ship that is carrying Pi, his family, some crew and zoo animals, Pi is the sole survivor on a boat with a few wild companions. In the end, he is left with a tiger that refuses to make friends with him, but, without a choice, they have to learn to get along.

Legend of 1900. A movie about a boy who grows up on a cruise ship, never setting foot on land. His extraordinary talent for music leads him to join the cruise ship’s orchestra — and so his adventure begins. He meets different kinds of people and eventually hears about the outside world through them. Truly, it is an interesting life.

Jaws. The ever classic movie about a killer shark that lurks and hunts for its prey at a beach in Amity Island. It was certainly a box office hit and it became so famous that sequels followed. After watching the movie, a lot of people got paranoid about going to the beach. They started to think that maybe a real “Jaws” is out to get them, too.

Water World. A futuristic movie about how the world would be after a great flood. No more land, even islands are gone and soil is the most precious thing of all. Present are only huge ships and man-made floating cities which become reasons for people to fight for survival. Lots of water actions and diving scenes in the movie. The lost city under water is really breathtaking.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Based from one of Jules Verne’s adventure classics, the film is about the great Nautilus, a giant submarine that people suspect as a sea monster. However, when three men try to hunt for the monster, they find themselves in an unbelievable submarine. Together with the mysterious Captain Nemo, they join his wonderful journey under the sea.

Open Water. The movie is based on a true story about a couple who has gone  diving with a group of tourists and is accidentally left behind by the boatmen. For days, they try to survive and wait for rescue teams that arrive late and fail to find them. The film is very intense and not for lighthearted viewers.

The Abyss. Two separate teams are on to finding a sunken nuclear submarine. As they go deep down to search, they instead discover something that they’ve never seen before. Would they have just wished that they didn’t look deeper or was it all worth it?

Master and Commander. The Far Side of the World. How far would a captain of a ship go to win a war? As long as there is a ship and a crew, then the answer is as far as it can be. Set in the time during the Napoleonic Wars, a captain is tasked to capture a ship — and he is not going to stop at all. Prepare for a lot of action scenes at sea.

Pirates of the Caribbean. What would you expect of a pirate movie? Of course, the never ending battle at sea, plus the odd and funny antics of the characters. With Captain Jack Sparrow as the lead character, the film and its sequels have brought viewers to numerous adventures both at sea and some strange places as well.