Patti Abbott recommended Life of Pi and you can read Patti’s brilliant review here. A young boy finds himself on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Also in the lifeboat is a Bengal tiger. How the boy and the tiger coexist as their food and water run out powers this contemplative film. But, of course, there are Large Questions in the boy’s narrative. In the end, the viewer is asked to chose between two different stories. This is a movie you’ll be thinking about months after you see it. GRADE: A-
Read it more than a decade ago, but I remember the novel as being pretty good.
I didn’t have time to read the book before I saw LIFE OF PI, Drongo. But I did see the movie with someone who did and she said the film follows the book closely.
I think that was my second favorite movie of the year. And I didn’t expect to like it at all. What a treat when that happens. If you had told me I could drift on the ocean with that kid for more than an hour and not be bored, I’d have been shocked. Sometimes computer technology is a wonder. That tiger looked real in every scene.
Thanks for the recommendation of LIFE OF PI, Patti. Like you, I wasn’t enthralled with the concept: a kid on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. But the movie is about a lot more than that. Without your positive opinion, I probably would have skipped LIFE OF PI.
I was under the impression that
** SPOILER **
there was some pretty gory stuff in it, when the tiger eats the other animals that also escaped the sinking ship. That’s in the novel, I believe (which I will read when I get a copy). That’s what made me decide not to see it.
** END SPOILER **
So I’ll probably skip it for that reason.
The violence in LIFE OF PI is hinted at, Rick, not shown directly.
I’ve got to admit that Patti’s review makes me curious but I don’t think I’m ready for this. As usual, couldn’t care less about the family perishing at sea but would agonize over the animals.
Patti is right about the incredible CGI job on the tiger, Beth. You will love LIFE OF PI if you choose to see it. Joe would find it fascinating, too!