Seriously, it's more than just a film about a boy stuck on a boat with a tiger

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2013)

They said that this was the unfilmable book, and, well, this and countless of other films also fall into that category (such as Cloud Atlas, which I plan on holding off seeing until I get around to actually reading the book, though I have since seen it because I could watch it on the plane), and I would also suggest that maybe books like Ulysses and To the Lighthouse also fall into that category (I know they have made a film out of To the Lighthouse, but since I am writing this at 38000 ft and have no internet access, I cannot comment on Ulysses – yep, they have).
For those who have not seen this film, you will know it as the film about the boy who is trapped in a life boat with a tiger. Actually, many of you that have seen this film will probably say the same thing, I know I will. In fact, it is amusing sitting on the plane and looking around at the other seats to see who else is watching it (and the fact that I am stuck in this flying coffin for eight hours, I might as well watch it, but I do draw the line at Cloud Atlas – which I ended up watching anyway, and quite enjoyed it). Anyway, enough of me rambling, let us talk about the film.
Visually it is beautiful, but having never read the book I cannot comment on whether it actually catches the themes of the book all that well. Based on the film, and the story that is told at the end, I suspect it is about how one struggles with one's animal instincts and the desire to remain human. When trapped alone, out of touch with the rest of humanity, it is believed that one will no doubt descend back into an animal nature.
It is an interesting thought though, that the only thing that keeps us civilised is the existence of other people. The reason I raise this thing is because there are two stories, and one of them involves the boy stuck in the boat with the tiger, but this is a metaphor, in a sense. The boy is, well, the boy, and the tiger is the animal urges that are trying to take over the boy's mind. However, how do we know that that actually happens. Maybe there have been studies, maybe there hasn't.
However it is not simply about controlling one's humanity because, in a sense, we also have a scene where boy saves the tiger's life, and we question whether that, in a sense, is his desire not to let go of his animal nature. In a way this struggle, as he says, keeps him alive. Maybe it is the case that by killing the tiger he kills himself. In a way, it could be the animal instinct finally winning, so by showing the tiger kindness, and mercy, one retain's one humanity, whereas by killing the tiger, one sinks and becomes lost in one's animal instincts.