He did most of the stunt-work, in his late 70s

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5776304&forum_id=2:#49276702)

i really like jc chandor's shit. it is a crime he got derailed for five years making Kraven the Hunter

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5776304&forum_id=2:#49277235)

Here's how that scene fits into the movie:

- The Initial Disaster: Robert Redford's character first encounters trouble when his yacht collides with a stray shipping container floating in the Indian Ocean. This happens to be a container that fell from a Maersk cargo vessel.

- The Near-Rescue: After enduring a catastrophic storm and transferring to a small life raft, Redford's character drifts into a major shipping lane. This is when a massive container ship, identified by some critics as a Maersk vessel, passes by.

- The Symbolic Significance: As you noted, the crew of the enormous freighter fails to notice his tiny raft despite his desperate attempts to signal with flares. This moment starkly highlights the themes of isolation and vulnerability against the vast, impersonal forces of global commerce and a modern, inattentive world.

It's an especially powerful and ironic moment, as the company responsible for the drifting container that led to his initial disaster is also the company on the ship that fails to see him.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5776304&forum_id=2:#49280583)

Catalyst for the Climax: The appearance of the ship heightens the climax of the story, as it offers a fleeting, hope-filled moment of potential rescue before plunging the protagonist back into his isolated and desperate state. The subsequent storm and ultimate sinking are a result of this extended period of vulnerability.

In essence, the true antagonists of the film are the elements themselves—the sea, the storm, and the vast, isolating scale of nature. The Maersk ships are simply elements of the industrial world that exist alongside this indifferent natural force.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5776304&forum_id=2:#49280597)

“I said, ‘You can’t play it. You can never play a loser.’ And Redford said, ‘What do you mean? Of course I can play a loser.’ And I said, ‘Okay, have you ever struck out with a girl?’ and he said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he wasn’t joking.”

“He didn’t even understand the concept,” Nichols continued. “To him, it was like saying, ‘How many times have you been to a restaurant and not had a meal?'”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5776304&forum_id=2:#49278318)