Joe Versus the Volcano

(1990)

★ 5.8 IMDb · 601 votes

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Adventure

Year: 1990

Runtime: 102 мин

Country: United States of America

Director: John Patrick Shanley

Cast: Том Хэнкс, Мег Райан, Ллойд Бриджес, Дэн Хедайя, Осси Дэвис, Barry McGovern, Роберт Стэк, Аманда Пламмер, Lala Sloatman, Эйб Вигода

Plot

Hypochondriac Joe Banks finds out he has six months to live, quits his dead end job, musters the courage to ask his co-worker out on a date, and is then hired to jump into a volcano by a mysterious visitor.

Joe versus the Volcano is a fable which opens with somewhat surrealistic scenes of the dehumanization of Joe Bank's job and work environment (at a company whose product rather literally screws people) with imagery that seems to have been inspired by the classic film Metropolis. Joe is diagnosed with an incurable disease, quits his dehumanizing job, and accepts an offer to briefly "live like a king, die like a man" - but to fulfill his agreement he must willingly jump into a live volcano on the island of Waponi Woo in order to appease the volcano god. En route to the island, Joe meets a series of interesting characters in NYC and LA, then boards a yacht, captained by Patricia Graynamore. During the voyage Joe and Patricia survive disaster, fall in love, and finally arrive at the island where they face their destiny.