Life of Pi (2012)

I would love to know what Yann Mantel thinks of the movie that Ang Lee made of his book.

The story is this.  A boy and his family have a zoo in India.  Pi thinks that he has a special relationship with their Bengal Tiger, known by the name of the name who sold him to them, Richard Parker.  Pi's father wants Pi to never underestimate the power of a wild animal, and puts a goat within reach of the tiger and in front of Pi's eyes, the goat is killed.  Traumatic for a young boy.

The zoo falls on hard times and the family decides to immigrate to Canada, sell their animals there, and start a new life.  The whole thing goes terribly wrong, the ship sinks and in the end the only two survivors are Pi and Richard Parker--a vegetarian boy and a Bengal tiger.

The bulk of the movie is about their 227 days at sea in a small boat.  Pi spends a fair amount of time in a makeshift raft off the boat, as a life preserving technique, and while the tiger remains wild, they manage a sort of detente (more through the work of Pi than Richard Parker).  It is lushly filmed, gorgeous to watch, and the story is told at a very lovely pace.   Even knowing what happens at the end does not mar the suspense that you feel throughout the movie.   It is so well done, especially considering the story it began with and it's adherence to that story.