MOVIE REVIEW - Life Of Pi

Ang Lee is an interesting film maker.  He is going to again create quite a stir with this latest creation, Life Of Pi new this week.   This is based on the incredibly successful book of the same name.

Lee has given us really diverse projects over the years.  He seems to grab the ones that people say either can't be done, or will be amazingly hard to do.   Sense And Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain, Hulk, and of course his jewel, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.   Life Of Pi was said to be way too hard to bring to the screen effectively, but it's very good.

LOP is the story of a young Indian boy, Pi who at a young age begins a very eclectic spiritual journey while living in India.  He is Hindu, but he also studies Catholicism, as well as the Muslim faith.   His family run a beautiful zoo in India, but when the political climate in India changes, he and his family are forced to leave India. They are going to try to start again in Canada.

They take the zoo animals and leave India aboard a Japanese freighter and set out across the Pacific.  Then the giant ship goes down in a terrible storm.   Pi is the lone human survivor in a steel lifeboat with a orangutan, a zebra, hyena and a full grown Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.   They set out on a journey of survival for months in an attempt to be rescued.   How on earth will they make it? And how is it even possible to live with these exotic animals and fierce carnivores?

Of course in the end this is far, far deeper than simply this.  And there is plenty of symbolism and deep thought provoking moments in this movie that test Pi's multiple faith's and make you look at this story from many different angles.  All in all this is a very powerful and interesting story.  But the star of this movie is the actual movie making.

This is not some huge action-sequenced movie, although there are many compelling "actiony" scenes.  This is very difficult movie making.  All these animals, especially the tiger who is one of the main stars of this movie.   Pi's interaction with Richard Parker The Tiger is extensive, and the main thrust of this movie.  In what is certainly a mixture of real tigers, and animated it is extraordinary the chemistry that is developed between Pi and Parker.   This movie I feel could only have been done this well by Lee, as somehow he finds a way to make it all look so easy.

Richard Parker The Tiger develops a real on screen personality, you get to know him, even though he is a top of the food chain killing carnivore.  What Lee does visually with this tiger character is nothing short of amazing in scene after scene.  Few film makers would have even taken this on. And the pressure was on too, as this is a great story from a hugely popular book.

This is a 2 hour visual feast and treat for movie goers in every regard.  It's also a great piece of conversation over coffee when its over.  The plot is certainly open to multiple interpretations.  Daring and bold movie making that virtually anyone can see.  Although even though it stars a young boy, some of this could be a bit too intense for real young movie goers.  PG-13 seems apt here.

Life Of Pi.   The star of this movie is the movie making. Much of this will be considered at Oscar time.   Ang Lee, well, well done.