Life of Pi 3D Review

Rated PG (Emotional Thematic Content Throughout, and Some Scary Action Sequences and Peril)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 7 Minutes

Cast-

Suraj Sharma-Piscine Molitor 'Pi' Patel

Irrfan Khan-Adult Pi Patel

Ayush Tandon-Pi Patel (11/12 Years)

Gautam Belur-Pi Patel (5 Years)

Tabassum Hashmi/Tabu-Gita Patel

Adil Hussain-Santosh Patel

Vibish Sivakumar-Ravi Patel (18/19 Years)

Mohamed Abbas Khaleeli-Ravi Patel (13/14 Years)

Ayan Khan-Ravi Patel (7 Years)

Rafe Spall-The Writer

Shravanthi Sainath-Anandi

Elie Alouf-Mamaji

Gérard Depardieu-The Cook

Andrea Di Stefano-The Priest

Bo-Chieh Wang-Buddhist Sailor

Directed by Ang Lee

Suraj Sharma stars as Pi Patel in Ang Lee's wondrous adaptation of Yann Martel's best-selling novel, "Life of Pi."

The world is full of stories and their ability to move and inspire, to make us ask questions and fill us with a sense of wonder make them powerful tools that can have a profound effect on people. It is this power that Ang Lee has captured in his latest film, "Life of Pi," based upon Yann Martel's best-selling 2001 novel of the same name. Long considered to be 'unfilmable,' the project languished in development hell for close to a decade as various directors, including M. Night Shyamalan and Alfonso Cuarón, became attached but quickly jumped ship. In a strange twist, it was Fox 2000 Pictures executive Elizabeth Gabler who kept the project alive. When Lee signed on in February 2009, the studio balked at his proposed $70 million production budget, putting the film on hold. Production finally began in 2011 and what was regarded as 'unfilmable' has now becoming a reality. The first person of Asian descent to win an Academy Award, Lee is one of Hollywood's most acclaimed directors and the different genres he's worked with demonstrate his versatility. If there was one person who was able to bring Martel's novel to life, it would be him. Proving once again that he's a force to be reckoned with, Lee's "Life of Pi" is one of the best films of 2012, a stunning technical achievement that utilizes 3D as a new form of artistic expression, resulting in a visual masterpiece filled with wonder, beauty, and most important of all, heart. 

A writer (Rafe Spall) looking for his next story is introduced to Piscine Molitor 'Pi' Patel (Irrfan Khan as an adult, Suraj Sharma as a teen), who recounts to him an extraordinary tale of survival where he was stranded at sea for 227 days. Growing up in Pondicherry, India during the 1970's, Pi's mother (Tabu) was deeply religious while his father (Adil Hussain), who owned a zoo, was more pragmatic. Fascinated with religion at a young age, Pi was initially raised Hindu but is introduced to Christianity and Islam when he is twelve years old. He begins to follow all three religions, much to the frustration of his father, who explains to him to think rationally and that believing in everything is the same as believing in nothing. Wanting to see the new Bengal tiger (given the unusual name Richard Parker due to a paperwork mix-up) that the zoo has acquired, Pi goes to its cage to feed it some meat but his older brother Ravi (Mohamed Abbas Khaleeli) runs away to warn his father. Ignoring Pi's explanation that animals have souls, his father teaches them a lesson by having a goat brought in and making his boys watch the tiger maul and drag it away. Pi reaches a turning point as a teen when his father explains that due to the tense political situation in India, the city council is no longer supporting the zoo. Hoping for a fresh start, he decides to move his entire family to Canada and sell all the animals. However, the Japanese cargo ship that they booked passage on runs afoul of a fierce storm while crossing the Pacific and Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and Richard Parker. The animals soon succumb to hunger, leaving Pi alone with the fearsome tiger. Stranded at sea with no help in sight, Pi must battle for survival even as his faith is tested. 

At its core, "Life of Pi" tells a very simple story but one that asks viewers to reexamine how they view the world: through a spiritual lens or as a pragmatic cynic. Working with a script from David Magee, director Ang Lee has accomplished the impossible in bringing this tall tale parable to life and invoking the power that story-telling can have on others. The film's opening credits will leave quite a few people going 'Aww' as we're treated to scenes of various animals lounging about before segueing into Pi's amusing explanation of how he got his name. Apparently, his honorary uncle (or mamaji) was a frequent swimmer and came across a pool in Paris called the Piscine Molitor, a real swimming pool that has fallen into disrepair since its closure in 1989. Pi's father named him after the pool but the children at school pronounced it as 'Pissing.' A frustrated Pi abbreviates his name, demonstrating in math class his impressive knowledge of the irrational number π. The first forty-five or so minutes follow Pi as a child and his introduction to religion through the stories told by his mother. To him, the various Hindu gods were his superheroes. To understand God, Pi cherry-picks elements of Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam to build his point-of-view of the world. There's a sense of optimism in the way "Life of Pi" views religion; to the main character, those labels mean nothing because all of them have their own benefits. Rather than sticking with one belief, Pi creates a harmonious mix between the three religions. In a way, the film is telling the audience to celebrate their similarities instead of their differences. Given the times we live in, it's a message I hope people take seriously. 

The second act begins with the sinking of the cargo ship (a scene that will leave Roland Emmerich with his mouth open) that kicks off the film's most dazzling sequence. Lee's use of 3D is incredibly immersive and he doesn't waste it on gimmicks but instead pulls viewers into a sense of cinematic enchantment and wonder. We know that in the end Pi survives so the central drama is derived in how he survives and the relationship between him and Richard Parker. The ironically named tiger is a technical marvel as it's virtually impossible to tell the real animal from the CG one. Pi's father will argue that it does not have a soul but this one does; that's how convincing the effects are. Despite his harrowing survival experience, Pi encounters all sorts of wonderful phenomena, from bioluminescent jellyfish to an island full of chattering meerkats. Lee frames the endless ocean as a mirror that reflects the clouds and the stars, leading to a surreal sequence that recalls the 'Star Gate' scene in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." He may be a novice when it comes to 3D but Lee's utilizes it like a seasoned pro and the 3D in this film puts all other 3D films released since "Avatar" to shame. The adult Pi ends the film by offering an alternative story that's grimmer and asks the writer (and by extension, the audience) to choose the one they prefer. It's a test of faith that the AV Club's Tasha Robinson perfectly summarizes, about 'whether they want to take [the] plot literally or metaphorically, whether to focus on the film's body, or accept its soul.' By leaving it so open-ended, the film wants its viewers to go home and think about what they've seen, which is an audacious move for big-budget production like this. Yet that's precisely the reason that "Life of Pi" is so good, that it dares to ask the hard question even as it entertains. 

Given its premise, the film lives and dies on the strength of its leading man and Lee couldn't have chosen a better actor in Suraj Sharma. The nineteen-year-old from New Delhi had absolutely no prior acting experience but he easily carries the entire film on his shoulders, exhibiting a sense of charm, curiosity, and determination. Let me remind you that Sharma spends the bulk of "Life of Pi" interacting with basically nothing and yet he manages to sell you on the poignant relationship between a boy and his tiger. He is supported by a solid cast that includes Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, and Rafe Spall but the spotlight is always on Sharma alone. 

"Life of Pi" was released on November 21, 2012 to largely positive reviews with 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics hailed it as 'an astonishing technical achievement that's also emotionally rewarding.' The audience I saw the film with greeted it with a round of applause once the end credits rolled, although its box office prospects remain uncertain despite its $30.6 million debut. Still, Lee should be proud of what he's accomplished and I expect his film and name to be among the Oscar nominees. With its lush 3D cinematography, "Life of Pi" is not only a reminder of the power of stories but of cinema as well, delivering a wondrous experience that has to be seen on the big screen.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

"If every unfolding we experience takes us further along in life, then, we are truly experiencing what life is offering..."