Indulge In This Pi
By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 26, 2012 10:00PM
Too few people will explore and indulge in the voyage that is this winter’s Life of Pi, a dramatic adventure film based faithfully on a 2001 best-selling novel by Yann Martel. It seemingly lacks Skyfall’s action, Twilight’s romance, and the seriousness and artistry of this fall’s The Master. Unbeknownst to many, it artfully contains all of the above.
It is terrific luck that director Ang Lee (of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain) finally brought this project to fruition, as he was fourth in line to direct this film after incomplete attempts by M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuarón, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. His inspired vision for this story’s crisis, beauty, metaphor, and philosophy begins and remains light and engaging; it is always suspenseful and emotional, though not too heavy or tiresome. The explosion of colors, meticulous imagery, and forceful reckoning of nature (also shown in 3D) are unlike anything you will ever experience.
This film tells the story of young Piscine “Pi” Molitor (played by newcomer and then-college student Suraj Sharma) and his childhood as the son of a zookeeper in Pondicherry, India. A self-proclaimed Hindu, Christian, and Muslim at the age of 14, young Pi asks the questions about faith that we are too scared, busy, or insecure to ask ourselves. Pi is surrounded by conversations with contrary messaging from his rational, scientific father (Adil Hussain) and his pious, faithful mother (Tabu). It is easy to admire his steadfast commitment to all three religions in spite of this friction, and it is his dedication to being genuinely reflective and hopeful that sustains him once his family and everyone on board the ship to Canada is killed in a horrific boat accident. Pi finds himself trapped perhaps mercifully though precariously on a lifeboat with a tiger, orangutan, hyena, and zebra. The spiritual and literal journey that follows is profound, devastating, and compelling.
The most incredible part of this project is the film’s star, Suraj Sharma. Chosen from among thousands, his command of conflict and earnest performance are impressive given his limited experience and the intense use of CGI, limiting him to react to nothing aside from the props and torment of his imagination. Similar to a movie like Cast Away or TV show like Lost, viewers are asked to confront the absence of government or civilization and explore the possibility of infinite silence, haunting isolation, and the terrifying mercy of the elements. What is unique about this is the energy of the philosophy as well as the evident obligation to carefully display every scene with sensation and feeling. It is not cheap thrills but instead masterful scenery and color.
Do not skip Life Of Pi; it will amaze, challenge, and touch the very parts of you often forgotten, especially during a busy and commercial holiday season.
By: Vicki Pietrus