Day 134: Life of Pi

While travelling from India to Canada on a Japanese cargo ship, which is transporting animals from a zoo in Pondicherry and the Patel family who own them, there is a violent storm and the ship sinks. Fortunately, Pi (Suraj Sharma) is thrown into a lifeboat and is saved. Unfortunately, there’s a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger on board with him. The numbers soon dwindled and Pi is left alone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean just trying to survive and to stay out of the way of the tiger.

So, I’m going to be really annoying and just say it: I prefer the book. I know it’s not really fair to compare books and films because they tell stories in different ways and with different degrees of interaction from the reader/viewer, but still. It could just be that I’ve read the book quite a lot and I really do love it, and so I’m finding it hard to separate my love for everything that happens in the book to what actually happens in the film. I’m not saying it strayed massively away from the book (there are only a couple of things I can think of that are missing or different) but it was a completely different experience. The book draws you into the panic and the devastation and the endless nothingness that Pi goes through during his time at sea, and so when he has brief moments of relief or happiness you really do feel it with him. This was definitely lacking in the film, I felt no real connection with Pi. That’s not a slight against Suraj Sharma, he was very good and I hope he’ll be in more things. There was just something missing for me.

The shots were beautiful and Suraj Sharma did a great job of keeping me interested in his character. It was a good film. All I’ll say is, read the book.

7/10

Day 65: Brokeback Mountain

In the Summer of 1963, Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Heath Ledger) look after sheep on Brokeback Mountain. They both realise they’ve found a rare connection and over the years they live for the time they spend together.

Jack is quite the dreamer. He wants to be with Ennis all the time, not for them to just meet up every so often, so he suggests they get a place together on a ranch. But Ennis is realistic and tells him that they could never do it because they’d be killed if anyone found out and besides, they both have families now. It breaks my heart when Jack looks sad and disappointed. He just wants so badly to be with Ennis but there are so many things in the way. So when he hears that Ennis got a divorce, he drives 14 hours to see him thinking they can now give it a chance, but he’s shot down again. I know Ennis was finding it more difficult to deal with his feelings than Jack but his keeping him close but distant at the same time just wasn’t fair. The last time they see each other they fight and we get the line everybody knows, “I wish I knew how to quit you.” It’s been 20 years and he can’t get past him and he is finding it too much to bear. Jack, my baby.

I don’t think there’s anything sweeter than the moment depicted in the image at the top of the post. They’re together and they’re happy. I’m going to pretend that’s how they always were.

8/10