I loved Avatar & thus went to watch 'Life of Pi'. Also because it has an Indian story with an international appeal.
Its all about a young man’s survival from a terrible ship wreck and a Royal Bengal Tiger during a storm in the Pacific Ocean.
Pi's Life starts as a confused kid, because of his amusing name and his parents, who had very different perspective on religion and spirituality. While his father was an atheist, his mother (Tabu), was encouraging and endearing, gives him the freedom to choose his own path. Pi starts getting inclined towards spirituality and starts following three religions at the same time. As a kid, he always had numerous questions in his mind. He believed doubts keep a human alive.
While sailing from Southern India to Canada, his Ship got stuck in a disastrous storm, where he escapes only with few animals, after losing his complete family. The story revolves around how he struggles in mid of an ocean and the reaches an unexplored - magical - carnivorous island.
The Bengal tiger named 'Richard Parker' is height of digital imagery. His eyes, majestic walk, fur and the glorious roar makes it all the more believable then real.
Soon you start identifying with Pi , with his faith, his courage, his pain and the problems he is dealing with. You start praising for his guts and gumption required to sale through this ordeal. And his deep trust on God. Its mesmerizing to watch that how in the middle of the ocean would he find food and water, avoid turning into the tiger's meal.
The relationship between Pi and tiger is a blend of fear, love, compassion and tolerance. In the Second half, it's the relationship between a tiger and a boy and how they learn to get along that is heartwarming. The director has remarkable control on the Script and maintains a right balance of drama and brilliant visual effects as Pi's struggle unfolds on screen.
Suraj Sharma who plays the teen age Pi, is utterly believable as the character and you feel for the boy stranded in the middle of the sea. Indeed a talented actor. The supporting cast is awesome as well.
The movie is a visual masterpiece aided by fascinating story line, amazing affects & tight screenplay. It has many profound lines , moments which gives goose bump and makes you believe in all the wondrous things. Not a single element in movie looks fake and you travel through a beautiful dream of 2 hrs 15 min created by the director, Ang Lee.
Rating: 4.5/5, deducting 0.5 points as it ended very soon & I wanted to get more of it :)
*****
What others has to say:
'Life of a Pi' directed by Ang Lee, is a film so fascinating and so stunning to look at, you don’t want to blink for fear of missing out on a moment.
-> 3D so richly
-> Excellent work by Suraj Sharma...
-> "Hunger can change everything you think you knew about yourself." says the desperate hero in Life of Pi.
Don't miss it!!! - Ashish Sahane
