Life of Pi is about a teenager who finds himself shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal Tiger for company.
Life of Pi starts of with a rather large introduction of Pi’s early life; talking about how he grew up and most of all his strange, but interesting outlook on faith. However other than building Pi’s personality and introducing Richard Parker(the Tiger)this earlier section holds barely any relevance to the rest of the film. This section of the film though is well written and holds some deeper, ambiguous messages about faith and family. Despite the harsh criticism of the intro’s relevance it is actually much more appropriate to the hidden meaning of the film instead of the direct plot.
Pi and his family then plan to migrate to a different country when their ships engine explodes and the ship ends up sinking. Pi manages to escape to a life boat with some unexpected animal company. After a short time Pi is alone with Richard Parker and the real film begins. One of the biggest features of the film that will really stand out to you during this middle section of the film is the outstanding visual affects. The CGI used to create the ocean is breath taking, and there will be moments in this film when you find yourself more interested in the water than the actual events of the film.
The deeper message of faith becomes even more apparent during this part of the film. At points Pi begins to question his beliefs but this phase is short lived as Pi is put through an even bigger emotional roller coaster. Despite the earlier relation ship built from fear slowly but surely strengthens into what appears to be a very tight bond. This section of the journey is one of Pi and Richard Parker’s saddest and hardest points, which definitely shows in the affects script and acting. Ang Lee appears to be promoting faith in the film using various events and characters. The over all meaning of what he is saying appears to be that faith is excellent to find out about your self and your heart.
The ending of the film is so surprising that it is almost disappointing, and at the time the possibility of this outcome doesn’t even cross your mind. Unusually it seems to contradict the message of the story. This ending though, is very emotional and, after contemplation and reflecting, it does suite the film. Life of Pi is a very good film with mind awing visuals and a channel of deep ambiguous messages. This is definitely a film to add to your viewing arsenal.
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