“If every unfolding we experience takes us further along in life, then we are truly experiencing what life is offering,” says the titular character of “Life of Pi.” This line encapsulates the very meaning of the film. Life and its importance are the focus of the film, and our protagonist goes through many of these “unfoldings.”
“Life of Pi,” adapted from the book of the same title by Yann Martel, is a film dripping with beauty, a landmark in the use of CG animation, with a story to rival the visuals in beauty. The result is sheer cinematic awe; “Life of Pi” is a film you experience, as if you, the viewer, are persisting through the same struggle as Pi.
The narrative structure of the story involves an unnamed writer (Rafe Spall) wishing to write a book on the, well, life of Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel (we learn early on that he changed his name to Pi, the mathematical term, after being made fun of for his rather unfortunate real name). The writer has heard that Pi has a story that will “make him believe in God.” And so Pi gives the writer, as well as we the audience, the privilege of knowing his story. Pi is shown in four incarnations – as a child (Gautam Belur), an older child (Ayush Tandon), a teenager (Suraj Sharma), and an adult (Irfan Khan).
Pi is a man of many religions, a Hindi, a Muslim, and a Catholic. “Religion is a house with many rooms,” the adult Pi says. His faith and his spiritual journey are imperative to the story.
We follow Pi from his youth growing up in India, to his teens, when he learns that his family must leave India and head to Canada, taking their family zoo with them. It is on that fateful night on the ship that his life is forever changed. As seen in the trailers, the ship, for reasons unknown, sinks, taking its passengers with it, Pi’s family and animals included.
It is then that Pi is left on the boat with the Bengal tiger, dubbed “Richard Parker,” and Pi’s struggle to survive and his spiritual journey truly begin.
The tiger is, for much of the movie, entirely CGI and is painted as a creature that is not just an animal, not an antagonist, but a fellow survivor to Pi. And the two must work past their differences to survive on the open sea with nothing but a lifeboat and accompanying supplies.
The movie is a must see if just for the absolute power and beauty of its visuals. Director Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Brokeback Mountain”) has created yet another cinematic marvel. There are scenes that cannot be described by words. The closest term for them is “awe-inspiring.” I did not see it in 3D, though it’s imperative to say that the film’s use of 3D has received nothing but praise, which may tempt me to see it again in the third dimension.
In short, “Life of Pi” is a must-see. It does not matter if you are not a spiritual person (as I noted to a friend after watching it, “My heathen heart is just too great”); this film showcases all of the beauty of life.
“Life of Pi” is now showing in theaters everywhere.
Rating: 4/4 stars
