Wow, this has been an exciting fall for literary adaptations! I read Yann Martel's Life of Pi a decade ago and thought it was fantastic storytelling. I cheered when it won the Man Booker Prize. So, I was quite excited to attend an advance screening recently with several members of my book group. I remembered the novel quite well in broad strokes, but not the fine detail. I didn't refresh my memory before watching the film, but was curious enough to reread Life of Pi in its entirety before writing this review. The film is very true to the novel in spirit and tone, but there are small changes, additions (generally positive), and elisions (some noteworthy).
The film opens similarly to the novel. The idea is the same, but the execution is slightly different. Different mediums require different storytelling tools. For instance, I believe most film-goers will readily recognize The Writer (portrayed by actor Rafe Spall, who replaced a distractingly famous Toby Maguire) as a stand-in for author Martel. In the novel, it is Martel himself, in direct address to readers, who fulfills this role, effectively blurring the line between fact and fiction. It is established that this story is being related to The Writer by an older Pi. From there, readers are introduced to a young Piscine Molitor Patel and the world he inhabits. It's a charmed childhood, being raised at the Pondicherry Zoo amongst a loving family and exotic animals--an Indian "We Bought a Zoo." These scenes are as lush and colorful as any Bollywood musical.
I've discussed this novel with other readers countless times over the years. It's beloved by many, but truly hated by a vocal minority. I've never understood the vitriol, personally. Martel writes beautifully and accessibly. His story is fast-paced and yet deeply rooted in character. And it explores the boundless subject of faith through an extraordinary tale--a "story to make you believe in God." But one complaint I've heard from readers is frustration over (or lack of interest in) Pi's religious explorations early in the novel. The young man is a practicing Hindu, Christian, and Muslim. Martel never belabored the point, but those readers will be gratified to see that director Ang Lee has streamlined the beginning of the tale to move more swiftly to the meat of the story.
And that comes about when Pi's family packs up their lives, their animals, and moves the whole kit and caboodle to Canada by ship. Well, that's the plan. Something goes wrong in rough seas outside of Manila. The ship goes down in a haunting scene, and now the stage is set. Sixteen-year-old Pi is shipwrecked in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a 450-pound adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. It's survival of the fittest on the high seas, and things get Darwinian fast. Soon enough, it's Pi and Richard Parker in it together.
When I first heard the premise of this novel, somehow I thought Richard Parker would be some kind of cute, anthropomorphized tiger, and oversized puddy tat. He was not. He was a terrifying predator, and he stayed a terrifying predator, throughout Pi's ordeal. This was much the same in the movie (although not quite to the degree as in the novel, a change commented upon by Martel in the Hollywood Reporter). Richard Parker was scary in the book, but he was terrifying on the screen. I flinched as he snarled and lunged in 3D.
From here, both novel and film take on an episodic or picaresque quality. The film is delightfully dream-like from its opening frames. (An early scene of the swimming pool from which Pi derives his name enchanted me!) But as the days at sea pass, and the ribs of both animals become plainly visible, the film shifts from dream-like to hallucinatory. Episodes and encounters become increasingly extraordinary. Sitting in the audience, I could clearly discern who had read the novel and who had not by the gasps and exclamations. (Among my friends, the film was enjoyed equally by those who had read the book and those who had not.)
Yes, there are episodes that are missing from the film, one of which is quite notable. Fans may miss it. And, yet, I can understand the choices made. Cuts were judicious. As noted earlier there are a few small shifts and changes. But this is a very faithful adaptation of Martel's novel, and I suspect it will please most fans of the original. What is lost is more than made up for by how Ang Lee has brought Martel's fantastic vision to life.
The cinematography and design of this film is exquisitely beautiful. I'm not a huge fan of 3D technology, but once in a while it seems to really augment a film. Such is the case here--all the better to experience a small boat on the vast ocean. And while we're on the subject of technology, the CGI work on the tiger is seamless. None of us could detect where the real tiger ended and the computer-generated beast began. I have heard that young Suraj Sharma never once filmed with the live animal. For safety, their scenes were filmed separately. And I don't know how much footage was of a real cat. All I can say is that the illusion is extraordinarily believable. That a first-time actor could give such a convincing performance playing opposite an imaginary tiger is doubly impressive. The success of the film lies firmly on Sharma's moving portrayal of 16-year-old Pi, but the supporting performances were equally strong. It was Spall's response to Pi's story at the end of the film that actually gave me chills.
I've been circumspect about revealing specifics of the plot. I'll leave all the surprises of Pi's voyage intact for those new to the tale. And readers of the novel can see for themselves what made the cut. About the ending... Those who have read the novel know what to expect. Now film-goers can join the debate we've been having for the past decade. In the end, it truly is all about faith. Which story do you prefer?
This may be the hardest movie review I've ever written, somehow words don't
express it quite right ...
To begin, I saw Life of Pi in 3-D. A week later I went back and saw it again,
because I don't foresee having another chance. I expect the color and detail
will remain gorgeous in 2-D, and I definitely intend to buy the disc.
However the 3-D in this movie is spectacular. The tiger, Richard Parker, is
at the top of the list, but in fact the entire movie benefits tremendously
from 3-D. If you liked Avatar, you probably liked the marvelous animals.
And I'm sure in some scenes, Richard Parker is CGI'd to some extent. But
Life of Pi has a real earthly animal to work with, and you can argue there
is no animal on earth more beautiful or fierce than a tiger. That's part
of the genius of this movie, and I'm sure one reason James Cameron liked
it so much.
That brings me to another point about this movie, its suitability for kids.
Hopefully by now you understand the tiger is not a cuddly pet. Its very much
a wild animal, just like you can see in nature videos. Except in this movie
the tiger is a lot closer. He wants to eat Pi. Pi can't always see the tiger.
The audience knows the tiger is going to try something, but that just makes it
all the more nerve-wracking. Or exciting, depending on the person watching.
This movie made me jump several times, and I was often clutching the arms of
my chair. Its pretty intense in places. More so the second time I saw it.
I kid you not.
"Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the darkness of the night"
William Blake
"Tell me what you see"
Pi
Regarding the story, I will say the movie starts out to establish what kind
of a kid Pi was when he was growing up in India. This helps us know Pi as a
multi-dimensional character. But the beauty of this part of the movie is
the kind you can see every day, not the visionary beauty that comes later.
Maybe it takes more effort to see it, because its a little too much like our
own lives when we were kids. Growing up can seem mundane. But sometimes
it can also be dangerous. Or heartbreaking.
Once the movie shifts to the ocean, its very easy to believe that now we
have our arms around the story. But Life of Pi is one of those movies where
we don't really know the story at all, until the last word of dialog has
been spoken. There's more than one story here, and most of what makes you
think, after its over, comes at the very end. You have to pay attention to
pick it all up. On disc, you may want to re-play a few seconds at the end
of the movie.
Its worth it. If you like to think about a movie, if you have a vivid memory
for beauty, then Life of Pi is one of the easiest movies to recommend. Its the
second masterpiece of 2012.
Buy Life of Pi (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (2012) Now
One might watch the trailer and groan at the prospect of another "The Black Stallion," but I have good news: this is not the same. Yes, both involve a ship sinking with one human survivor, and both have the survivor interact with animals while waiting for rescue. There is a key difference, though, that expands drastically with the final minutes of the film. In "The Black Stallion," the animal is a horse, something humans communicate with around the world. In Life of Pi, the tiger gives us something completely different. A natural enemy, very willing to devour. I'll get to the important meaning later.
As is evident from the dramatic trailer, the cinematography is overwhelmingly beautiful. In all honesty, you don't see the half of it in the trailer. While at first, it didn't seem likely to work in 3D, I've put that view aside. It's the best live-action 3D I've ever seen! One of the best scenes (for the full emotional effect), is seeing the ship go down as if you were right there. In fact, more than one scene were so effective in this way that I was physically breathless. A few times during the film, Pi encounters rough storms, and this is where another beauty comes through. The camera captures the movement of Pi and his boat so well, it boggles me. While other movies have moved from cut to cut in moments, giving the impression of a storm, these cuts last much longer and show a lot more. It's as if filmed on location, with no misguiding.
Something you should know before you watch is that Life of Pi breaks into the topic of religion quite a bit at the beginning. Pi follows several religions. First, Hindu, then Catholicism, and Muslim, all at once. After the incident, it doesn't come up much, apart from a few overtones, but it's important to be aware going in.
This is a film for slightly older audiences (13+) for the reasons of the ship's intense sinking, and for the complicated concepts of the film.
To warn you, this last paragraph is a bit *SPOILER* oriented. Near the end of the movie, Pi tells another story, showing what the tiger represents. Suffice it to say that there is more meaning to this than surviving on an island with a horse and winning a race with him later on. I won't spoil any more, though.
In conclusion, this is a beautiful movie about survival and perseverance, in the midst of harsh, beautiful nature.
Read Best Reviews of Life of Pi (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (2012) Here
Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" is a masterpiece with some of the most beautiful and unforgettable images ever displayed on film. Not only did it give me an experience of the wonder in being alive while moving me to tears, but its story also encompassed a human life from childhood to mature age while dealing with pain and guilt that are part of the human experience.
Ang Lee isn't thought of as an Asian auteur in the class of Wong Kar-wai, Zhang Yimou or Lee Chang-dong. He's actually more of a commercial director than a personal artist, but what he does in transferring the "Life of Pi" from novel to screen is miraculous. Perhaps no director has ever captured the beauty and fear of the power of life, and when you look deep into the eyes of the tiger "Richard Parker", you see what Marlowe saw in Kurtz's eyes in Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness": a power so vast it dwarfs you with an awareness of your mortality, showing you your insignificance beside the powers of all life. What Ang Lee does here in this film will, I believe, remain his tour-de-force, and is a work of art I will come to many times in the future.
The acting is wonderful, primarily Irrfan Khan, one of India's greatest actors who plays the adult Pi. Khan provides an entire acting course just in the way he uses his face, displaying a smile in the film's climax that rivals the Mona Lisa's in its ambiguity. You see the world of pain, guilt, joy and sadness in his delicate expression.
The film is supremely spiritual in every frame, yet, if one is paying attention, it winds up as somewhat of a Trojan Horse in what it ultimate reveals about religion. I'm trying hard not to provide a spoiler here, but there are five words spoken by the adult Pi at the end of the film that viewers seem to miss that spell it out. But moving away from its theme, no film I have ever seen in my life comes close to "Life of Pi" in relating the sheer force of nature (making you experience the beauty and terror in the soul of a tiger) and the cosmic beauty of our world, both inner and outer. Using 3-D more brilliantly (and essentially) than any film to date, this film burned into my mind incredible visual sights impossible to find anywhere else, showing me beauty I will remember the rest of my life.
Highly recommended, and one that truly deserves to be seen in 3-D.
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A 2001 novel of the same name by Yann Martel is the basis for "Life of Pi" and it has been called unfilmable. The movie has been in the works since 2003, but the nature of the film has caused many to think that it would never be possible. See, most of the film involves a boy in a lifeboat with an adult Bengal Tiger. The movie also involves many other challenging things to portray, including a massive shipwreck, an island of meerkats and a strong religious overtone that manages to be fair to all religions. Suraj Sharma plays Pi Patel, a boy becoming a man who challenges all conventional thinking as he leads his life. Curious about religion and religions, he prides himself in knowing not just one god, but all gods. Not to mention, despite its obvious carnivorous nature, he has faith that a Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker has a soul and can be befriended.
"Life of Pi" has many levels and as visually stimulating as it is, it is also mentally stimulating and beautiful in its intent. I'm not completely sure it achieved all that it intended but the gist of its message comes across loud and clear. Life is a gift and the days ahead are not guaranteed. Faith is vital in living a rewarding life and in knowing how life is not only to be lived, but to be cherished for each and every moment. I'm pretty sure that was the gist.
Above all, "Life of Pi" is not just a well-filmed movie, but a gloriously well filmed film. The quality levels of the filming are unprecedented and its 3D makes all 3D that has been done prior look like the second and third-rate stuff that it is. The effects used to bring the tiger Richard Parker to life are awe-inspiring. Your eyes widen, as they should, when Parker strikes and when he nears. There has certainly never before been a movie that gives you the impression of what it would be like to be and live in the proximity of such a beast.
"Life of Pi" comes off a little heavy-handed at time and I have to admit that I assumed there would be more to it, but the amount there is to it is in the eye of the beholder. You can look at the movie and say that it wasn't about much, or you can look at the movie and say that it was about everything, because it is. The performances are outstanding, including the Tiger, and the film is without question, one of the best of 2012.
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Great stuff here.... All of these films look better on blu-ray than on the old dvds....especially White Heat....the indoor scenes in Petrified Forest look noticeably better, while the out door scenes have a lot of gray, but are still pretty good.... Public Enemy and Little Caesar are both improved, but still have a lot of scratches and some grainy scenes here and there.... The mono audio tracks on all the films are still very limited, but ample.... The extras are the same as on the DVDs.... Too bad the Warner night at the movies sections are still standard definition.... Oh we'll, these are all great films--Cagney, Bogart and Robinson are all at the top of their game, easily out shining the wooden character actors contained herein....worth it just to see Cagney flip out in the prison cafeteria in White Heat--he kinda sounds like Dwight Frye in Dracula.... Mother of mercy, is this the end of the review?....
