Life of Pi. Photo: 20th Century Fox
Before this goes any further, you should know that I have not read the book so this review will be based on the film only.
Life of Pi had released earlier in America and other countries than it did in the UK; therefore I was pressured to go by the family because all of my relatives in India said it was amazing. So I was rather reluctant to see it for this reason.
But I know from films like Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I couldn’t deny that I had some inkling to see the film because Ang Lee is a masterful director. He knows how to take a good story whilst still making it a visionary masterpiece to watch. I can say this viewpoint did not change with this film.
The film, an adaption of the book by Canadian author Yann Martel, is about the story of a boy named Piscine Monitor Patel (played by newbie, Suraj Sharma), or known more commonly as Pi is living a nice life in a zoo in Pondicherry, India. But when his family decide to move the zoo to Canada, a shocking turn of events leads him shipwrecked on a boat with only a tiger by the name of Richard Parker, for company. The rest of the story follows on the journey they have together, and whether there was more to that story that meets the eye.
The story is beautiful- easy to understand, yet rather deep.
But the reason I would recommend seeing the film rather than reading the book was that it is the only mature film that is worth seeing in 3D. The scenery of retro India was stunning and the visual effects of Pi’s fantasies and surreal dreams were beyond this world.
Yet, the most impressive aspect was the amazing CGI effects of the animals, especially the tiger. It was incredibly lifelike, and his movements were created in such a realistic manner that you really forgot that it was in fact not a real tiger.
My only disappointment was that I wished they had shown visuals for the other story. I understand that it probably would be gruesome for some viewers but it would have put the whole film into perspective a bit more than just simply narrating the story.
But overall I came back thinking I am glad my parents had persuaded me into seeing this film. It’s a must-see movie of 2013 and is a wonder to behold.
The trailer for Life of Pi is below:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/m7WBfntqUoA[/youtube]
