Life of Pi

Some movies are meant to mesmerize for its intensity and Life of Pi is a solid example for that. Ang Lee’s vision on the best seller is remarkable indeed and the end result is a gripping story of a young boy’s survival. The plot of the movie is quite predictable, but it’s the essence of reality in the fiction that makes this movie an unforgettable treat.

The plot revolves around the title protagonist Piscine Molitor Patel aka Pi Patel. His young mind was always in search of God and the various thoughts of various religions confused his young mind. His family hails from Coimbatore and they own a zoo there. At a particular instance his dad is forced to close the zoo as it lost the support from the government and he decides to move to Canada along with family and the Zoo animals. On the way to Canada their ship gets wrecked and poor young Pi is stuck with a tiger named Richard Parker. How he survives the days with the tiger in the rescue boat, the bonding between Pi and the tiger and how all these makes Pi a different human being is all about this Ang Lee movie.

Based on the best seller novel by Yann Martel, “Life Of Pi” movie scores for its feel. Familiarizing the audience with the attitude of Pi and also taking them to that horrifying situation of his is indeed a mammoth task and the makers have done it quite brilliantly with brilliant scripting and amazing technical backup. The emotional backdrop of Pi could have made the movie a dragger at Occasions, but David Magee’s screenplay impressively kept it in Rhythm with all the flavors of entertainment and enlightenment.

On screen, Suraj Sharma was damn good in his wild card entry as the leading man. Irfan Khan was also really good in sustaining the kind of characteristics that Suraj gave to the character of Pi. Loved the performance of the boy who portrayed Pi’s childhood. Tabu and Adil Hussain were also impressive in their short span but relevant roles.

In the backend, Ang Lee amazes us in the making. The reality that has been brought on the screen is quite remarkable. As I already mentioned the screenplay is very impressive for its engaging pace. The way they showed the minute details were also really nice. The VFX team needs a standing ovation for a remarkable job. It’s their hard work and of cause the eye candy cinematography that makes this movie close to reality and makes us respect the will power of Pi Patel.

On the whole, this Ang Lee movie is a sure shot classic film for its making. It’s one of those rare movies where you enjoy getting synced into the plot. For a worthy 2 hours and 7 minutes of class movie experience I am giving this movie a 4/5. Don’t miss this dish.