Film: Life of Pi Director: Ang Lee

Faith is a beautiful thing.

Ang Lees Life of Pi is the movie equivalent of a motion picture miracle. In 126 minutes, there is not a single shot in the entire film that doesnt shine ith utter !rilliance. "hether its dangerous animals, crashing aves, violent storms, t in#ling stars or the e$otic island on hich the main character eventuall% lands, ever% last moment seems to escalate the significance of the overall message& hich is actuall% quite simple considering the amount of time and patience that must have !een required to ma#e these gorgeous special effects or#. Lee has 'umped through numerous genres in his career (Hulk, Brokeback Mountain), !ut he has al a%s sho n a unique sense of devotion to each film he ma#es. Im not sure if Pi is his !est or#, !ut it certainl% proves him to !e one of the most committed filmma#ers of the modern era. "hen I read *ann +artels !est,selling novel, I as a !it s#eptical as to ho it ould !e adapted. -he director has also admitted in intervie s that he asnt sure it could !e done hen he first too# on the pro'ect, !ut ith onl% a fe slight moderations, Lee has overcome an assortment of difficulties so that avid readers ill treasure the !oo# even more so than !efore. -he stor% involves a 16,%ear old Indian !o% named Pi (.ura' .harma). /is full name is Piscine +olitor Patel, !ut his friends nic#name him 0pee.1 2f course he cant tolerate this, so he decides to adopt the name 0Pi1 !% sho ing off his a!ilit% to list the mathematical constant 3.14, and the never, ending line of num!ers that follo it. "h% am I e$plaining all of this %ou as#5 "ell, if e all #no that 0Pi1 is an ongoing num!er, the ord itself should perfectl% fit the name of a character ho #no s no limitations. "e learn during the introduction that Pis father o ns a 6oo, and that the !usiness is going !ro#e. .o the hole famil% (along ith a handful of valua!le animals) must !oard a ship headed for 7anada. "hen disaster stri#es, Pi is suddenl% hurled out to sea as the ship (and his famil%) sin#s !elo the surface. 8otice the eerie setup of the ships final descent and as# %ourself if it doesnt mirror a similar shot from -itanic& that moment hen the last sign of light on !oard 'ust graduall% fades a a% into the dar# depths of the ocean !elo . -he details of the adventure are shared !% a middle,aged Pi (Irrfan 9han) as he recounts his tale to a visitor (:afe .pall) in his home. ;pon surviving the ship rec#, Pi is forced to cross the Pacific 2cean all !% himself in a life!oat, !ut hes not entirel% alone. /e has a 6e!ra, a h%ena and an orangutan to #eep him compan%, !ut then theres an ongoing companionship !et een himself and a :o%al <engal -iger named :ichard Par#er. Parents should note to their children that this is 82- a =isne%,!ased tiger ith a friendl% personalit%. >ven though it has spent time in a 6oo, it is still a ild animal ith an instinctive need to control the space around it& even if that space has !een heavil% reduced to the confines of a life!oat. -he !ul# of the plot covers 22? da%s spent drifting at sea as Pi and the tiger develop an interesting relationship. It !egins ith a frantic desire to maintain and ma#e use of hat little room is availa!le, !ut it never stra%s from the ph%sical logic of man vs. ild. 2!viousl% the carnivore ill see his sailor as potential pre%, !ut it is up to Pi to reinforce a feeling of trust !et een himself and the animal. "atching it develop, I as reminded of a crucial element in -he @ungle <oo# hen .here 9han loo#ed deep into +o glis e%es and accepted him as a fello !eing of nature. Its an intriguing performance of faith and isdom as ne comer .ura' .harma dominates the ma'orit% of the film alongside a computer,generated !east that loo#s a!out as real as an% Ive ever seen in person. "hat fascinated me most a!out the film is the a% it hum!l% (and almost secretl%) com!ines

various concepts ithout us even reali6ing it. -heres religious tradition !rought in to e$emplif% the onders of life itself, and then e have several additional specimens representing the totem of e$istenceA on the surface e have mammals in a !oat, fish s imming in the sea !elo , and !irds fl%ing high in the s#% a!oveB all together in one !eautiful picture, orth far more than 'ust a thousand ords. "hen I revie ed .corseses /ugo last %ear, I called it the !est e$ample of a film that utili6es 3= technolog% so that the movie means more as a result of the upgrade. Its still a short list one %ear later and m% reservations remain intact, !ut Life of Pi has officiall% 'oined (and possi!l% even topped) m% list of films that are actuall% orth spending a fe e$tra !uc#s to see on a !igger dimension. Ang Lee hasnt used 3= to sensationali6e an%thing a!out the movie. -he stor% is still the same, !ut ith a much greater definition of its atmosphere. If %ou dont see Life of Pi in 3=, I suspect %ou ill pro!a!l% al# out of the theater ishing %ou had. <ecause as I mentioned a!out the title characterB the possi!ilities are endlessC

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