Life of Pi (2012)

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"The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself." - Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) in Castaway
Confabulation: to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication. My parents and brother are convinced I do this on a regular basis. I maintain that my memories are all real. Just because other people can't remember it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Besides, the stories I concoct in my mind are more interesting than my boring, mundane life. It's more exciting that way.


Based on Yann Martel's best selling novel, Life of Pi is a story told by main character Pi Patel as an adult (Irrfan Khan). He details a story that "will make you believe in God," where his family decides to sell their home and their zoo (and animals) to move from India to Canada so he and his siblings may have a better life. When the ship capsizes during a massive storm, the younger Pi (Suraj Sharma) finds himself the only survivor, floating in a rescue boat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker (don't worry...the name gets explained). After expected bloodshed as a result of Richard Parker's hunger, Pi eventually finds himself alone on the boat with the jungle cat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where he must find a way to survive and keep from being his tiger's next meal.

Director Ang Lee has created what can only be described as a mix between Castaway and Big Fish. It takes the elements of solitude and mixes them with the excitement of storytelling. As a child, Pi is obsessed with religion of all kinds. He's born Hindu, but finds himself drawn to Christianity and other religions as he grows older. His father (Adil Hussain) is a man of science and reason, who discounts his son's obsession, wishing he would focus on more realistic endeavors. In the end, stuck on a boat with a Bengal tiger, Pi finds himself consulting the teachings his father bestowed upon him, while at the same time praying to a God he isn't sure is listening.

The entire film, as I said, is told by Pi as an adult to a writer (Rafe Spall) who has been sent to hopefully tell his story. He explains that when insurance adjusters asked him to explain how a cargo ship could sink and he detailed his story of survival, they balked at the epic tale. So, he told them a similar story that's much more realistic, much less magical, and much less "feel good." When all is said and done, does it really matter how the boat sunk? What's more important is how Pi survived and how he can frame his story into a tale of hope that can brighten the skies a little.

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Life of Pi is tedious, at moments. Think about it - in a similar way that Castaway was a struggle to get through, this film follows the same flow. Unfortunately, Sharma is no Tom Hanks and lacks the type of charisma needed to make a performance like this work. It doesn't help that the entire film is narrated, which takes away a little bit of the mysticism. Somehow, while Pi is telling his own story, we are taken out of the surreal nature of the situation.

You can't dispel how absolutely gorgeous this film is, though. I'm not a big supporter of 3D, but the design and technical brilliance of the technology here was a great experience. The colors are spectacular, the ocean effects are vivid, and, while there are a few moments that feel a little too psychotropic, Lee and his team at least provide some breathtaking imagery to ease the lack of forward momentum in the story. Ang Lee's film is epic in scope and very ambitious, to say the least. Unfortunately, it doesn't reach the sort of life changing experience it is trying to be. It could have done so much to allow viewers to make decisions for themselves and interpret things in any way they want to. Instead, Life of Pi turns what is a tremendous story about determination and faith into an underdeveloped fairy tale that ends on a bit of a down note.

While it's the obvious overtone, I would hardly argue that Life of Pi is entirely about faith in a religious sense. While Pi turns to a number of different Gods at different points in his life (including on the boat), his story weaves in a way that more so restores a faith in man and an innate ability to be resourceful. Life of Pi is more about what we tell ourselves to believe. Some people choose to believe in God. Some choose to believe in a spiritual being that oversees the world. Some believe in numerous Gods spanning human history. And some believe that a young man can survive on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger. Whatever you need to help you get up in the morning should be good enough.

SHOULD YOU SEE IT: Possibly