The Boat is a 2018 thriller directed by Winston Azzopardi that fans are now zeroing in on in 2024—what with its mind-gripping plot and headache-inducing ending. It was first released to critical acclaim back in 2018, earning a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.7/10 on IMDb. the film stars Joe Azzopardi who plays the role of a lonely sailor who gets trapped aboard some mysterious yacht,
It's a story of survival, and one lonely sailor is in a desperate struggle against an increasingly perilous series of events: a storm, a sinking boat, and something in control of the vessel. Very minimal use of dialogue and the loudness of the film shift the narrative into unsettling tones while the audience is kept guessing what this boat is and what it has to do with the main character.
More particularly, the ending has been debated a lot in circles of fans due to the open-ended conclusions. The destiny of the sailor is left with hazy consequences and with such an ambiguous end, most interpretations vary from paranormal phenomena to psychic metaphors. This open-ended conclusion made this movie by Azzopardi a cult favorite among fans of thought-provoking, wordless, and tense thrillers.
How does The Boat end?
The ending of The Boat remains ambiguous, leaving the audience to wonder if the lone sailor did indeed ever return home. After surviving many harrowing moments on the haunted yacht, he finally eludes from danger only to find himself washed up on the same island where it all started. The movie ends with the sailor finding his boat attached to the land, hence there being some circularity in his experience.
Some postulate that the sailor was never free and was merely trapped in a deterministic cycle conjured by those mysterious forces aboard the yacht. Others suggest it as a symbolic ending, which reflects the psychology of the sailor, with the yacht playing a part only to symbolize his inner self. Even the name given to this boat, Aeolus, comes from the Greek mythological person who controlled the winds—adding to the supposition of supernatural elements at work.
The extreme atmosphere of the movie and the desperate struggle of the sailor to survive makes the ending of the film seem rather jarring. The film raises one to meditate on what kind of reality the sailor went through and the ominous presence that lurks around on the yacht.
What is The Boat about on Netflix?
The Boat takes off when a fisherman becomes lost in the heavy fog and stumbles across an abandoned yacht that he comes to think of as a sanctuary. Wading into it, he learns that, mysteriously, his boat is gone and that he is locked up in this floating palace.
In his wayward yacht, he experiences a lot of nightmarish scenarios, such as when he gets trapped in a bathroom filled with increasing amounts of water and when the yacht appears to be on autopilot, sailing into bad weather.
This film's tension is held together by sparse dialogue and claustrophobic settings that feel isolated and desperate. He falls into a circle of entrapment.
The ending, as mentioned, is open-ended which will keep the viewers in wonder about what exactly happened to him and to the malevolence of the yacht. This is a must-see for those who eagerly seek psychological thrillers.
The Boat is available on Netflix, or to rent/buy on Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, and YouTube.
