It took me about three attempts to read the book, but once I got into it I was hooked. It’s a wonderful, imaginative story – a young Indian boy grows up on a zoo in India but when his family and the animals take a journey to a new life in Canada there is a storm and he is ship wrecked – and has to survive for many days in a life boat with a zebra, orang-utan, hyena, Bengal Tiger (Richard Parker) and his wits.
I’m not that keen on wearing 3D specs, but the effects were worth it – I only wished that I had seen it on a bigger screen and been nearer the front – I am sure that I would have loved it even more if I had been totally immersed visually.
As anticipated, the storm scene was incredible and all the shots of that tiger were amazing. The night time phosphorescence and all those glowing sea creatures punctuated by the breeching whale is a vision I shall keep in my mind’s eye forever. The flying fish raining down on the boy and the tiger was pretty good too. And it would be impossible not to be touched by the carnivorous island and all those meerkats.
I took along a friend who had not read the book to see her reaction. She felt it was a bit slow at times and that the story rather far-fetched, but she enjoyed the luscious visual effects and said that she had been totally engrossed. She preferred the start of the film – with Pi’s schooldays and his obsession with religion. We both liked that he practised Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. There’s a moral in there somewhere. And we spent some time discussing how the “alternative” description of his amazing journey was replaced by such creative symbolism.
I think that older children would like this PG film – especially if they have read the book. Younger kids may get a bit restless in some of the elements between scenes, particularly as the grown Pi recounts his story at home – although that tiger is a constant presence and he really is hard not to admire.
There’s always a risk with well-loved books that the film will somehow detract from the magic and wreck the creations of your own imagination. It would be impossible to impart the richness of Pi’s thoughts and conversations with himself, and the tiny details of his daily life on that boat in any film. But the film didn’t disappoint, the visuals were simply stunning.
