Original Review Link
Having read (and loved) the book and seen the initial wave of positive reviews to come out for Life of Pi, I was cautiously optimistic that Ang Lee might do Yann Martel's masterpiece justice. I am pleased to say I was not disappointed!
The trailer (#2 - with Paradise by Coldplay quite prominent) may slightly misrepresent the film as a Cast Away fantasy with an animal in tow but the general feeling I felt when watching the film was one of joy.
It reminded me of a feeling I felt when reading Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass when the crux of the film comes down to the power of stories and storytelling. Life of Pi is another example of the power of storytelling both thematically in the subject matter of the story and also in a physical sense in how Ang Lee crafts and creates his story.
As is always the case with "unfilmable" or difficult books, there are certain key beats you really really want the film maker to get right. In this instance, *spoiler* the island that Pi visits with its hoards of mere cats and its surprise dental biology - which thankfully wasn't dwelt on too much but rather came across as an afterthought in the journey... and more improtantly, the final 5 minutes of the film where the power of story telling comes to prominence in such a beautiful and fitting
This was one of the best films of 2012 - unsurprisingly I rated this film 5 stars out of 5!
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