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Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain and Tabu
What It’s About: A young man survives a disaster at sea and is thrust into a life-changing adventure with a Bengal tiger.
Rated PG (for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril)
Runtime: 127 minutes
5 December 2012
By Cole Nelson, Staff Writer
From Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to “crouching tiger, frightened boy,” director Ang Lee has released feature films that constantly receive much talk (not to mention awards) in regards to the prestigious Oscars ceremony. With the release of Life of Pi, an adaptation of Yann Martel’s novel of the same name, Lee continues to withhold his respectable reputation.
With opening shots of exotic animals going about their natural business, Life of Pi begins on a childish and lighthearted note that sticks true to its PG rating. However, this is just a mere reflection of the young Pi Patel’s naïve curiosity that changes his life forever.
When approached by a nameless writer (Rafe Spall), the matured and collected Pi Patel (Irrfan Khan) is asked to share a story that is known to “make you believe in God” — a story that details an epic journey of an adolescent Pi (Suraj Sharma). The film then focuses on the much younger, innocent Pi as he experiences the tragic loss of his entire family—mother, father and brother—in a disastrous shipwreck that leaves Pi stranded on a lifeboat with minimal food to feed him and a hungry, savage Bengal tiger—a tiger that was created almost completely out of CGI—named Richard Parker. Pi progressively learns to survive hundreds of days out at sea by improvising and rationing his supplies while simultaneously taming the once-undomesticated feline. On their 227-day aquatic trek (where you would expect to see the hand-printed Wilson volleyball drifting about), the tiger and the boy experience the heavenly sea in a fairly hellish scenario, which attempts to incorporate the presence of a “higher being.”
Suraj Sharma, who plays the young Pi, is the leading actor of the film, not simply because he plays the biggest role, but because he does just that: leads the film. Sharma’s performance is spectacular, especially considering that Life of Pi is his first acting job in a feature-length film. Sharma’s role of Pi, as an acting debut, undeniably sets the stage for a successful acting career and the chance to win his first Academy Award.
Through the use of the nameless writer’s questions, Ang Lee provides a way to clear up any slight confusion in the plot that the audience may possibly have. Other than that, I felt the writer was a rather useless addition to the story.
Courtesy of www.aceshowbiz.com
The relationship held between Pi and Richard Parker is a strong one, presenting to the audience an attachment that is rarely felt even between two human characters. Because the tiger is a computer animation that the creators had complete artistic control over, I felt more attached to the replica tiger than the physical human actor.
While the theme of accepting God and the importance of one’s devotion to religious practice is made prominent, Pi’s difficulty in choosing one religion—he places his faith in several: Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, etc.—works as a contradiction. The “voice of reason” for Pi, his father (a man who believes in evolution and provides Pi with many effective lessons), is downsized and eventually killed, while Pi the polygamist is glorified. More than anything, Life of Pi came off as a Sunday-morning-gospel film in addition to the intended coming-of-age adventure story.
Avatar (2009), a film directed by James Cameron, is often held in high regard for its visual mastery and advanced effects. But now, with the release of Life of Pi, the torch is passed from James Cameron to Ang Lee. Life of Pi sets new visual standards that unquestionably trump those of Avatar. For the special effects alone, Life of Pi is worth two hours in the theater.
The impressive visuals within Life of Pi display vibrant emotional colors and a tranquil beauty that make the disastrous ocean seem soothing. These effects add to the viewer’s inability to interpret what is believable and what isn’t, and increases the ambiguity of the existence of a god (which doesn’t support the film’s theological theme).
Ang Lee provides a heartwarming, visually groundbreaking coming-of-age movie that strays far from traditional Hollywood adventure films. Like the fellow Bollywood-esque film Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi has a shot at the year’s Best Picture, but, unfortunately, it does not have my vote.
8.5/10