Click on FULL SCREEN and enjoy!
This is a cautionary tale. By the time this movie was made, Paul Eling Johnson had become a bit of a sad sack who still lived on his boat alone, had nobody and no-one and his boat was in a barely floating condition, and he didn't sail anymore. He had found an accepting and non-judgemental community who treated him lovingly and with respect, despite his addiction and often wandering about in an enebriated state. A story of freedom bounded by alcohol and poverty. As the filmmakers stated, "This film is a contemplation about his choices after a lifetime of freedom before he embarked on his final journey of no return."
The Sailor" is a brutally honest movie about a man who led a fascinating, rich, and colourful life. A man who constructed, built and sold yachts. Who became rich at some point and who led it all go. And who is now looking back on his life.
I think, we all dream of sailing away from it all, letting go of our shore-based life, be free. Or do we really? What is the price of such a life? Sailing can be a blessing as well as a curse. Here we have a rich life but an empty boat. A man who has seen and done everything, sitting in front of a box of fading pictures, then setting sail in his old boat, his thin powerless arms on the tiller, gently gliding out to sea one last time.
Take your time to watch it. It is not your ordinary story of wild storms and sailing adventures. It is more like a confession, a search for the meaning of life. This documentary tries to shed a light on this question.
Paul Erling Johnson died on June 28, 2021, aboard his boat "Cherub" anchored off his beloved island of Carriacou. He was 83 years old. His motto in life was "Never be afraid to be terrified." A life well lived.
P.S. Paul Erling Johnson's friends published two small valedictory books, "Memories from the Sea" and "Watercolors". I'm tempted to order them.
