Life of Pi is about, quite literally, the life of Pi. Pi is a man originally from Pondicherry, India. Pi explains the origin of his nickname as well as his story of his journey to Canada. His family owned zoo is no longer getting funding which causes his father to move the family to Canada. While on the cargo ship going towards their new home a storm capsizes the ship leaving Pi to survive on a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
This is not a fast paced film, in fact it starts off quite slow. It gave me a sense of calmness, it was very soothing. It does however become more action-ee once Pi gets stranded on his lifeboat. This film definitely had a deep spiritual message, the audience was even blatantly told from the dialogue. Thinking spiritually there were three big events that needed to happen for Pi to fully give his life to God.
The first being when his family realized they must move to Canada, here he lost a lot of his friends as well has his comfortability. The second being the storm that sank the ship causing his family to lose their lives, leaving him helpless in the middle of the ocean. The third is the second storm that almost capsizes his lifeboat; with all the hardships that come from being stranded on a lifeboat as well as a raging storm this seemed to be what was required for Pi to give himself fully to his God.
Once he completed this act he was given some relief with an island that was completely edible, however there were still dangers here. He was given some relief for a day and then Pi went back on his difficult journey. At one point he saw a ship far into the distance, giving him a brief glimpse at hope, only leaving him feeling even more helpless than before. In the end he drifted up onto a shore somewhere finally safe but Richard Parker leaves Pi with no "good-bye" again leaving him with some sense of emptiness. This is definitely a message of how life usually turns out for the average person.
In the end I have only positive things to say about Life of Pi. The actors had great direction, Ang Lee did a phenomenal job working with Suraj Sharma during the scenes in the ocean. It was amazing how Ayush Tandon, the 11 - 12 year old Pi, looked like the adult Pi, Irrfan Khan. The casting for this film was perfect.
I consistently commented on how well the cinematography was throughout the film. Every technique used by the Director of Photographer, Claudio Miranda, portrayed the emotion being conveyed perfectly to bring the audience a higher connection with Pi.
Of course the visual effects company Rhythm and Hues Studios must be mentioned. They did an amazing job with this film, without them Life of Pi would not be the quality that it is. The Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, was the most realistic animated tiger that I have ever seen.
I give Life of Pi a 10 out of 10
This is a must see!
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