Life of Pi
Review by Sean Lynch
Going into an overhyped movie with no actual knowledge of the details of the hype in question can be a blessing and a curse. Life Of Pi is the sort of film that could go either way with background knowledge of the best selling book on which it's based.
For many, the book holds an incredible amount of significance. I've talked to quite a few people who mentioned that the book played a key role during their "exestential 20s", therefore the film was either going to totally miss the mark of their expectations - or add more colour and flair to the story they already imagined in their minds.
For me, I had no such pressure, I'd never even HEARD of the book let alone had it guide my soul during my years of development.
And boy, what a glorious level of joy does that sort of freedom deliver.
For those not in the know, the set up of Life Of Pi is fairly simple. It's essentially Forrest Gump meets Cast Away. The story, told restrospectively, follows a young Indian boy who miraculously survives a tragic disaster at sea.
Marooned on the only remaining lifeboat, Pi forms an unexpected connection with the ship's only other survivor - a fearsome Bengal tiger and is thrust into an epic and enlightening journey of adventure and self discovery.
First things first: Director Ang Lee has done a sublime job of making, what is essentially a dinghy floating in water for a few months, and incredibly insightful and genuinely beautiful piece of cinema. The 3D technology is used in, quite easily, the most effective way I've yet seen in a narrative film.
That's right, better than Avatar... or A Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas!
The visual palete which Lee paints his story on, the lonley and mysterious still ocean, is truly genius and really makes you envious of a boy who is lost at see with a tiger. You wish you were there with Pi, and if seen in 3D, you often feel like you actually are.
Life Of Pi's only weakness is its rather blunt summary of the events right at the end of the film. They literally spell out and bang you over the head with the metaphors and analogies that Lee has spent the previous two hours crafting. It's the ultimate "dumbing down" of a potential philisophical arthouse classic in order to please the $120M budget loving mainstream audience.
Sadly, all this "spelling out" achieves is the ability to rob its audience of the joy of a few weeks of heated discussions in the car with friends (as was the case with Inception's "Spinning Top" ending).
It's the only downside of an otherwise eye opening, heartbreaking, soul expanding, visual feast.
4 out of 5
Life Of Pi
Australian release: 1st January, 2013
Official Site: Life Of Pi
Cast: Suraj Sharma, Gerard Depardieu, Irrfan Khan, Tabu
Director: Ang Lee
