Life of Pi (2012)

Life of Pi (2012)

8/10

Starring
Suraj Sharma
Irrfan Khan
Tabu
Adil Hussain


Directed by Ang Lee

The movie has a saying that if you hear the story of Pi, you will believe in God. Well, I did listen to and watch his story, and I have to say the story is both mystical and, as it was made out to be, spiritual. The movie is intense, and it starts with a light, comic introduction of the lead characters and as I haven’t read the book, I was wondering if the movie was going to fall into the genre of an outrageous comedy. But actually, it drifts ever so gently into a dramatic scene where the protagonist, Pi, meets the tiger Richard Parker. 

Their meeting at first captivates you, then as see that the movie is about these two floating about, the pacing slows down, especially during Pi’s extended time at sea with the tiger, which, despite the breathtaking cinematography, can feel repetitive.

The power of the CGI used was groundbreaking, and the production was done in Taiwan where the crew built a tank that could hold 1.7 million gallons to shoot all the ocean scenes.

Ang Lee was the man in the director’s seat for this movie. Lee’s famous movies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and his Academy Award win for Best Director for Brokeback Mountain (2005), gave him the edge and know-how he needed to make this another Academy Award-worthy movie. Life of Pi received eleven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Based on a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel, which was published in 2001, the movie and book plot follow Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy who got involved in spirituality and scientific reasoning from an early age. His father decided to move the family to Canada and sell off his zoo animals, but on their way aboard a Japanese freighter, tragedy struck. Pi is shipwrecked and stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean, alone with several animals, and then alone with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

The movie/book is about how Pi survived 227 days stranded on a boat and how he managed to take care of himself and the tiger onboard.

Life of Pi is, as I have said before, a great movie that everyone should get the chance to see and enjoy. I see this movie winning Best Visual Effects at the Oscars, and probably more. So, the next time you’re at the cinema thinking about what to watch and this movie is still running, watch it—or better still, wait and get the DVD.