I'm not going to say too much about the movie. All I'm going to say is that when I left the theater I felt... not awesome. And it's taken me a while to put the reason into words.
This book made me think. The whole time I was reading it not much was happening in terms of action (I mean, he's just floating on a boat) but my brain was going 300mph. In order for the story to have meaning I had to find and create that meaning.
That isn't true for a movie. You don't have to think much at all for a movie to exist. All you have to do is sit there with your eyes open. Media is passive, while reading is active.
This movie took one of the most mentally stimulating stories I have ever read, and made it passive. Yes, it was visually stimulating and beautiful. And everyone I went with (some of whom have never read the book and some have) said that they loved it. But I didn't have to think at all. And that made me sad.
At the end of the day I think I just went in with too high expectations. I thought if there was 3.5 months in between me re-reading the book and seeing the movie then that would be enough. Apparently it wasn't.
I think they did the best job possible in turning this book into a movie, and that just wasn't enough. I stand by my original thought that this is just one of those books that cannot be translated into film.
All review content © Enna Isilee, Squeaky Books 2007-2012