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Jamme · 20-10-2021, 03:22

I have not watched the documentary yet or met the movie subject — just passing along, curious if anyone has any thoughts.

Thanks and fair winds.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9497264/

“What is the price of freedom? Paul Johnson sailed the world all his life. He loved, drank and lived foolish, never truly living on land. Now he is turning eighty. Both him and his boat are unfit to sail. He drinks a liter of vodka a day and contemplates his life, his death. What is at the end of such a journey? Is there loneliness? What is the relationship between freedom and selfishness? Does fulfilling a dream always have a bitter end?”

LittleWing77 · 20-10-2021, 03:55

I saw it as part of our Hot Docs Festival here in Toronto.

He's sort of a sad sack at this point. He still lives on the boat, but it's really the compassionate community in which he lives that sustains him.

A local marine repair shop owner goes to him as a hurricane approaches and tows the boat so it can be secured in the mangroves and then tows it back to his grotty mooring after the hurricane has passed and the boat survived.

Local ladies in the grocery, as well as the local bar owner all treat him lovingly and with respect, despite his addiction and his island wanderings in an enebriated state.

It was a cautionary tale - of sorts. He's a strange bird who has found an accepting and nonjudgemental community to support him, but watching it is sad. He lives alone, has nobody and no one and his boat is in barely floating condition - and he doesn't sail anymore. (There is a parting shot of the documentary filmmaker prompting him to take the boat out for a sail, but it seemed obvious to me that that was a shot the filmmaker wanted, not something that Paul was inclined to do.)

Sort of an anarchic "freedom"...
LittleWing77

Jamme · 20-10-2021, 11:00

Thank you for the feedback, LW.

**Hudson Force** · 24-10-2021, 05:05

Over our cruising years we often encountered single men living aboard marginal vessels who promoted a life of freedom; however, they were often bound by alcohol and poverty. I'm not familiar with the subject of this documentary, but he doesn't seem to represent what I think of as a liveaboard cruiser reaping the benefits of freedom or the results of a well-planned life.

**boatman61** · 24-10-2021, 05:21

Boat people come in all forms just like dirt dwellers, the only exception is the 'homeless'...
Hit that state and your just another dirt dweller, squatting on a Fairway Buoy just does not cut it in the same way..

**michaeld** · 24-10-2021, 08:15

I can find the trailer. Anyone find a streaming site for the full movie?

Adrian NAMT · 11-02-2023, 10:52

Youtube

bobnlesley · 11-02-2023, 10:58

Met Paul a few times in the 2013-17 period; I'm surprised about the vodka, back then it was invariably a rum bottle which floated past us each morning.

OldManMirage · 12-02-2023, 04:30

I watched it a couple days ago, found it on YouTube. I thought it was well done. Makes me want to go to Curacao. In some ways it was a little sad, but only in the ways that growing old has a certain sadness to it. He still had many friends and people that knew and cared for him. The older I get the more I can appreciate that.

I can certainly think of worse situations to be in. His health was good enough to allow him to live as he wanted. I hope I get the opportunity to do the same.

Kinkircating · 12-02-2023, 06:01

I stumbled across this on YouTube as well, and what’s funny is the first 5 seconds of them scanning the harbor and all the boats I knew exactly where it was. We anchored there for a night in 2018 and I had the overwhelming feeling then that’s this is where boats and people go to die. Very weird vibe, but the number of derelict boats with people aboard who’d obviously checked out of society 15-20 years ago was sad actually.

This was the only anchorage I’ve ever been in that I felt this way, I’m sure there are many others out there though. Made me reflect on what our plans are though and that inevitably there will be a transition back to land at some point.

SomeGuyInaShirt · 12-02-2023, 17:33

I just saw this movie last night, it was very poignant and probably would be to all of us. I often think of the inevitable conclusion to life and regrets I have, like most of us do, but we live such short lives and the earth is comparatively large and complex. Just like with cruising, certain uncontrollable influences dictate our paths and other choices may turn out good or bad but we can never undo the past so lamenting seems pointless to me. Overall I was happy watching the movie as the man lived so much more than most people but saddened knowing that final mile is walked alone and the road is usually scary and dreadful and we all take that road some day. I just hope my final mile doesn't involve watching my boat sail off without me haha.

OldManMirage · 13-02-2023, 02:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomeGuyInaShirt

I just hope my final mile doesn't involve watching my boat sail off without me haha.

Man, isn't that the truth ? And the cold scary reality of that statement is that it would likely happen WAY before I was ready for my last mile.

**JoeRobertJr** · 18-02-2023, 09:52

I watched the movie last night based on this thread. It was wonderfully done.

While watching, I found myself wondering about the filming. The subject, Paul Johnson, was clearly not a YouTuber, staging cameras and scenes himself, but at no time in the movie did I see even a hint of who was filming. Today, I found there are a few short videos on the making of the movie. The first is here:
https://youtu.be/TPoL19P_wps