When a ship goes down, the crew of six scramble for the lifeboats. Now, far from home, in the middle of nowhere, with dwindling supplies and no way of knowing where to go, the six of them have to struggle against hunger, despair, injuries, and the unforgiving ocean to try to survive. First mate Mannie (Billy Campbell), harpooner Pete (Shawn Doyle), Merv the bosun (Gary Levert) Gib the cook (Ryan Douchette) and teenage deckhand Dickie (Neil Matheson) have to stick with Captain Gerald (Brian Downey) to try to make it home.

Directed by award winning novelist Shandi Mitchell, winner of the Kobzar Literary award, the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize and Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize for Under this Unbroken Sky. The Disappeared, Mitchell’s first major theatrical release, is a brilliant film. Simple as that. Set entirely on the two boats, looking at stuff like broken families, faith, attempted suicide, in a truly terrifying situation, it’s impossible not to recommend it. Fantastic acting, a tight script, great cinematography (nothing looks lonelier than an empty boat at sea) top it all off.

If you go in expecting the typical big budget disaster flick, you’re in for a shock. It’s much slower and more subtle than that. The characters play off each other well, especially as Mannie (Billy Campbell) slowly succumbs to illness and injury. While all the players do well, Campbell and Downey are especially good, with Campbell cracking up and Downey as the Captain trying to keep the crew from killing each other, intentionally or not. There are hard decisions to be made, but even then you still have the looming threats of hunger and storms, and Mitchell balances both internal and external problems well.

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Highly recommended.

Donal O’Connor