MovieChat Forums > Cast Away (2000) Discussion > Bettina’s package(s)

Bettina’s package(s)

posted 4 years ago by Corneileous (387)
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OK so, as some of this movie is starting to make a little bit better sense, when Chuck takes that package that he had with him for the whole four years he was marooned on that island that he never opened, to Bettina’s ranch, I now understand that he wasn’t actually delivering that package, he was basically just returning it to the sender, which brings up even more questions about what was in the original package, the one we see getting picked up from her ranch at the first of the movie that ends up in the hands of, which I never thought of at the time, her soon to be ex husband, Dick. As a matter of fact, the first several times I had watched this movie, I didn’t know who that was. I never made the connection of who that character was, until now.

So obviously, her husband left her and decided to move to Russia. My question- well, part of it, what was in that package? Sure, everyone seems to be more concentrated on what was in her second package- the one we don’t see her mail off, the one that Chuck finds along with all the other packages he collects from the plane crash. We just assume it came from her because it has the same angel wing logo on the package like the other one did.

But now, what really was in the second package, the main mysterious one? Sure, people over the years joke about the Super Bowl commercial where it had a sat phone, seeds, compass, fishing line, along with some other random things he coulda used while being on that island but what truly was in it?

The reason I’m curious is because of a video I watched a while back that talked about the third draft of this movie’s script. Supposedly Chuck eventually opens the package and finds divorce papers, a couple jars of green salsa and a letter from her asking Dick to reconsider. Of course, this part was written out so, in kind of a sense, ya gotta kinda exclude that information because it never was revealed what was in it.

What do you guys think?

[–] Fandango (534) 3 years ago

Thematically, it makes sense that the second package was in fact related to divorce. Here is why:

There is an interesting contrast between Dick and Bettina and Chuck and Kelly. While Dick has literally and figuratively cast away his former life, Chuck is literally and figuratively firmly rooted in his. His trip to Malaysia is his way of leaving his former life, as we see him leave a small present with Kelly, telling her not to open it until after the New Year. He understands that once he is married, he will no longer do what he is passionate about, but will be given an office job with consistent hours. This decision is heavily emphasized during the plane crash scene, as Chuck is distinctly shown having to select between two options: choosing the life jacket (symbolic of his current life), or the watch with Kelly (symbolic of the new life he will have). He agrees to metaphorically sacrifice his life (not picking life jacket) in an attempt to start a new one (grabbing watch with Kelly’s photo). As Chuck finds himself stranded on the island, he symbolically and literally becomes a different person, while at home he is presumed to be dead (“we buried you”).

Chuck, just like Bettina, is cast away symbolically on the island, while Bettina is cast away in Texas as her husband moves to Russia. Just like Bettina, Chuck holds the hope that Kelly is waiting for him, but finds out that she has remarried, just as Bettina’s package (attempt at reconciliation) to Dick is returned. Bettina, living near a vast emptiness must come to terms with Dick not returning, which she does (symbolized through the sign no longer having Dick’s name in the end of the film). Similarly, Chuck, living in a vast emptiness of his own (the island) must overcome Kelly, which he does by removing his tooth.

Although Dick loves Bettina, he cannot overcome his old American life; just as Kelly, loving Chuck, is unable to overcome his inability to let go of his old life.