Directed by: Ang Lee
Rating: ★★★★
Academy Award winning director Ang Lee certainly knows how to tell both a compelling and visually stunning story. Based on the novel of the same name by Canadian author Yann Martel, Life of Pi, tells the tale of Piscine Molitor Patel- also known as Pi- a young Indian boy named after a swimming pool in France, and his journey of spiritual self-discovery.
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| Pi fights for survival... |
In Canada, a local writer (Spall) visits Pi (Khan, as an older man), an Indian immigrant whose story is supposedly meant to make people believe in God. As a young boy and teenager (Sharma), Pi grew up surrounded by beauty and nature, as his father (Hussain) owns and runs a zoo. Pi’s father disapproves of his son’s eclectic religious beliefs, particularly the idea that animals have souls, but Pi’s mother (Tabu) encourages her son’s faith.
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| Pi, his brother and mother in India |
To Pi’s horror, his family decide to uproot and move to Canada for a better life, but on the way, there is a heavy storm and the boat that they are travelling on sinks, leaving Pi the only survivor, alone on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A Bengal Tiger from their zoo, named Richard Parker, also manages to escape the wreckage, and Pi must learn how to live with the ferocious animal, and keep them both alive.
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| Pi must confront both himself, and his tiger... |
Life of Pi is not only a feast for the senses; it is also a quietly compelling and at times harrowing account of a young man’s will to live in an incredibly inhospitable environment. Due to his love of reading, Pi devours the survivor’s handbook he finds aboard the lifeboat and so teaches himself how to collect rainwater, fish, and most importantly, survive.
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| A visually stunning moment. |
The set pieces are beautiful, and the directing excellent. Moments of pure splendour include the night-time bioluminescent aquatic animals, the breaching whale, the isolating surroundings, and the magnificent scenery.
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| The breaching whale is spectacular |
The film begins quite conventionally, but as soon as the boat begins to sink, we are plunged with Pi into an unknown and frightening world of uncertainty and danger. Richard Parker is not Pi’s friend, and the way in which Pi strategizes ways to cope with his ferocious feline companion are realistic and clever.
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| Richard Parker aboard 'his' lifeboat... |
The Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker, is absolutely astounding. Mainly CGI, it looks and feels real and has such a strong and important presence. Richard Parker also represents much more than you initially might think.
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| Richard Parker represents a whole lot more than one might assume... |
For a movie that is set mainly in one place, and with one character, Life of Pi is never boring, as it is exciting, involving and stunning. Sharma gives a fantastic and understated central performance as Pi, and Khan provides emotional narrative weight as the older reflexive Pi.
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| At time, Life of Pi is upsetting and disturbing... |
Moments of Life of Pi are unsettling and distressing; particularly the powerfully potent punch at the end, but the bittersweet finale is thought-provoking and sensitive. There are some very tender and persuasive elements, and I really liked how the story concludes by making you reflect on some evocative existential emotions.
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| Richard Parker fights for survival just as much as Pi does... |
Life of Pi is not as uplifting as some might want it to be, but the understated elements are subtle enough to create an enchanting and poignant tale that is both engrossing and entertaining.
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| Another beautiful shot... |
The set pieces are beautiful, the story beguiling and immersive, and the movie’s message is enchanting and pertinent. Life of Pi is an excellent film, and I highly recommend it.
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