Many films have dealt with the bonds between humans and animals. While animals don't typically have voices in film, that doesn't hinder them from helping to tell a story. And, in the case of Pi Patel, one particular animal helps him get through an extremely challenging ordeal.
In Ang Lee's adventure drama, Life of Pi, based on the novel by Yann Martel, the uplifting journey of the title character is one of the most thrillingly beautiful survival stories ever told. With a tale that spends most of its time afloat in the Pacific Ocean, Lee has managed to craft a grand view of a narrative that asks questions about the universe, spirituality and faith, and offers fascinating possibilities in those complex factors.
Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) lives in India with his parents and brother, where they own a zoo. When his father decides to close the zoo and move his family to Canada so they can sell the animals, Pi reluctantly follows. They then set out to sea on a Japanese freighter. While on the voyage, the freighter becomes caught in a violent storm, and later sinks. Pi emerges as the only survivor. That is, human survivor. In his lifeboat, he finds that he is sharing it with a ferocious Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. As tension begins to rise, Pi realizes that his survival will not only count on food and water, but taming Richard.
For a newcomer, Suraj Sharma gives a star-making turn as the resourceful Pi. His performance is one of the things that the film relies on the most because much of the film focuses on his time out at sea. Just as his character takes control of his life-threatening scenario, Sharma does so with his scenes as he displays both joy and anguish during his journey. Even if some scenes call for limited dialogue, Sharma can wonderfully convey his feelings solely through facial expressions; we see amazement reflected in his eyes as he gazes on and enjoys the wonders of the sea and catch his glares at Richard Parker as he tries to match his animal ferocity as he attempts to tame him, like a cast-away ringmaster.
Irrfan Khan, as an adult Pi, narrates his tale in a way that shapes him like a storyteller of wisdom sharing his fantastical experiences around a campfire. As he tells his accounts to a young writer (Rafe Spall), Khan tells his story in a serene manner the whole time, but the viewer can detect pure emotion as he remembers the hardships that he went through. Although his voice remains calm and ponderous, one can see him going from elation to pain and back again as he tells different segments of his story.
Sometimes when a 3D movie is released, its use of the extra dimension will likely be compared to that of Avatar, and rightly so, seeing as it set the stage for new forms of moviemaking. Even though many 3D films after Avatar have failed to live up to its trailblazing use of 3D, there have been some exceptions, and Life of Pi is one of them. It really is the best use of 3D since Avatar, even better than last year's Hugo. With the use of CGI and 3D, the tiger looks startling real, and appears as close to a real tiger without it actually being one. The ocean looks so clear and pristine that in one shot of Pi and Richard on the lifeboat, the camera is looking down on them from above, and the reflection from the sky and the clouds on the water makes it look as though they are actually in the sky. In one particular nighttime scene, Pi looks through the water in awe as he sees a large school of jellyfish who give off bioluminescence, filling the ocean around Pi with strikingly lovely light. This is just one of many points in the movie where I thought, "This is pure magic."
In the middle of all the astounding visuals, the screenplay by David Magee carefully develops the relationship between Pi and Richard. This is certainly not the average "boy and his animal" story, but is rather a deep look at the spirituality of the main character and his belief that animals have emotions. There is one hauntingly beautiful scene where we first meet Richard. In this scene, Pi tries to feed Richard, but when his father catches him, he tries to show Pi that the tiger is carnivorous and doesn't feel emotions, and forces Pi to watch Richard kill and eat a goat. Nothing much is shown in the killing, but what we do see is something more significant. As Richard first comes out, the camera is on level right at his face, and we are staring directly at him. Although he looks like he doesn't exhibit emotions, that first connection and eye contact we have with Richard helps us to begin understanding what it is that Pi sees in these animals.
Director Ang Lee's use of 3D shows that just because a movie relies heavily on visual effects, that doesn't mean that it's simply a "special effects" movie. This film is loaded with artistry, and a filmmaker like Lee, who has dealt with impressive visual effects before in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Hulk, uses 3D to help the audience become more immersed in Pi's situation as we experience both beauty and danger in the journey with him. Pi's wonderment of the world around him is reflected in the shots of him marveling at the storm before disaster strikes, the oceanic setting and a small mysterious island that Pi lands on at one point in the second half of the film, and Lee brings all of this to rich realization. Life of Pi exemplifies what a story can do with just a few key elements. In this case, it's a boy and his tiger.
Final grade: A
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