It usually takes four weeks to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean, but not with a sinking sloop. Sadly, a sinking sailboat is where Steve Callahan found himself in 1982, making him switch to a raft. 76 Days Adrift reminds its viewers of the Atlantic Ocean’s vastness, not the best place to be all alone. On top of that, he’s without fresh water to drink. The documentary also lets Callahan narrate his losses and solutions during these ten weeks slowly drifting. It also gives us point of view shots, these reenactments showing how a body can change around ocean water.

76 Days Adrift has its share of mostly good visuals which it accompanies with Callahan’s easy narration. Sometimes, it also shows video interviews of Callahan, older and healthier than he was on the ocean back in 1982. The interviews and the narration have a similar tone of anyone recounting an event from decades ago. The story itself is enough to make enough viewers feel the immediacy of a situation no one wants to experience firsthand. I’m mostly happy that we get this version of this documentary instead of one with overt dramatization.

The dramatics in this documentary are enough for a situation where stakes are high and someone’s life is precarious. The shipwreck is Callahan’s first problem, which he solves by getting onto the raft that’s hopefully temporary. 76 Days Adrift has Callahan recounting some of his losses outside of the shipwreck, like a glossed over relationship. He also lets viewers in on Coast Guard bureaucracy, but for the most part he discusses immediate concerns. He remembers losing out on certain fish, which can make people feel things while drifting for a few weeks.

The ocean is both a beautiful and scary place, emotions and situations have semblances of nuance in 76 Days Adrift. Sometimes it shows that ocean and sometimes it shows POV shots of Callahan’s limbs within that space. His hands reach into the ocean, fishing or fixing holes (!) in his raft. Or at other times it shows diagrams of the materials he made so that he can catch fish that sometimes bite at his raft. The documentary occasionally shows his body and face but those shots are understandably few and far between. Strangely, the visuals all feel similar within this mosaic of a documentary that feels relatively easy.

It’s as if 76 Days Adrift is hesitating on staying on images that will make us feel time’s weight. But if it isn’t the best at expressing time, its images have some power to give heavy emotions. There’s a diagram of Callahan watching squalls, or lights on the horizon that give him some sense of hope. The documentary is linear enough to recount his false rescues building up to the time he gets out. Its tactile film-making and sense of urgency makes for a strange but nonetheless enjoyable selection for Doc Soup. Viewers know how this ends but everyone knows that old adage about destinations and stories.

76 Days Adriftis available to watch at Toronto’s Hot Docs cinema.