We went to see the movie Life of PI this afternoon. It .is based upon a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy , explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. And that becomes even more central to his character when Pi's family packs up their lives, their animals, and moves the whole kit and caboodle to Canada by ship. Well, that's the plan. Something goes wrong in rough seas outside of Manila. The ship goes down in a haunting scene, and now the stage is set. Sixteen-year-old Pi is shipwrecked in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a 450-pound adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. It's survival of the fittest on the high seas, and things get Darwinian fast. Soon enough, it's Pi and the tiger in it together. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal Tiger named "Richard Parker"'.
We loved this film. I thought the acting, directing, cinematography and the musical score were amazing. Right from the opening credits, it was arty and visually compelling. We saw it in 3 D. Usually I don't think this technology adds much value to films, but in this case it complimented and added to the depth of the films underlying themes. The script kept true to the book, while the special effects and cinematography brought this incredible story to life with stunning beauty, which is no small feat given the nature of the story. Fantastical elements run seamlessly along side the real, but it is the creation of the tiger is perhaps one of the greatest achievements in film to date. It is impossible to tell when the tiger on screen is an actual tiger or a digitally-created image.
Given the artistic talents of the special effects team, this movie could have felt like one long showcase of digital images, but there is somehow a beautiful simplicity to the film. Everything serves to tell the story. The result is a completely satisfying movie experience. I would recommend seeing this one on the big screen in order to fully immerse yourself in the wonder of the world created by Ang Lee.
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