MovieChat Forums > The Shipping News (2002) Discussion > Why was the chinese styled boat destroye...

Why was the chinese styled boat destroyed?

posted 15 years ago by netshopper-2
9 replies | jump to latest

Did they want the Ifans character to stay living there?

[–] AkMizaru 15 years ago

Alcohol. Plus what you said. But mostly alcohol.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

As has been said by others, an Oriental junk would not fare very well in the North Atlantic. They were saving his life by destroying it. It comes over as a bit strange in the film but it better explained in the novel.

[–] g-of-warks2-1 12 years ago

If they wanted him to stay there though, why did they smash up the caravan (trailer) that he had been living in?

[–] jobimfan3000 11 years ago

*That* was the alcohol. They all got caught up in the orgy of destruction and it just spread.

Darling, I am trouble of the most spectacular kind!

[–] first-things-first 11 years ago

Thank-you. I was going to start a thread about the boat, since I haven't read the novel yet.

"...as long as people can change, the world can change"

[–] Angus-8 11 years ago

Alcohol did all that? Most of what I know about drunkenness comes from Hollywood. Is it different in NF? Does Screech make its user destroy something valuable belonging to a friend?

[–] jamie-520 10 years ago

And of course it's always a good idea to attend a going away party with your trusty chainsaw 9)

[–] dbeane 8 years ago

The ancestors of many on Newfoundland were Scottish or Norse (as are mine, though I don't live in Newfoundland). These folks are known to tie one on and "go with the moment".

It's probably a way of showing how alien the local culture is to Quoyle, with his "civilized" ideas; as if he had witnessed some Inuit behavior or ceremony that he didn't understand.

Others have mentioned something about the locals wanting to keep Nutbeem around, but that's unlikely (or at least wasn't successful) - he merely decided to fly back to Brazil instead...