Personal Review

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2003)

i have read the book and also seen the theatrical movie. hopefully this makes me more of an objective critic. through following this story there are two points i wish to address, first being the authenticity of the story.
from what i have read. the movie does justice to the documentation provided by the book. there are of course items in the book which cannot be properly illustrated by the film only because much of what occurs is due to the readers fantasy, i have not known any director to be able to illustrate this without some variants. it even seems improbable that a director could make it echo that of your specific account, in reading the subject.
I think that this theatrical attempt is one of the best, true to text efforts that you will find. the movie provides a vehicle to learn or experience the characters in a different manner than reading about the events, which from the account of the narrator are somewhat bland and overly factual.
this is a great effort to stay true to the story provided and i personally find that the strange connection and distance that you encounter with the main characters convey the true meaning of what it would be like to experience an event like this - that is without the language and social skills of the environment one is thrust into.
so on the whole i think that this is a respectable attempt to recreate the story as documented, without taking too much license at "artistic additions" in the film version. i find that you become attached to the characters even without knowing their names or understanding them on a "language" scale. this story is truly about a foreign interaction and a textbook style accounting of the events that haunted the main character even after the experience.
excellent for those looking for a real story and not just special effects to entertain.