I read Life of Pi many years ago at the behest of my mother. I’m not sure if this was a plus or a minus for the film. In reality I only remembered the core elements of the tale anyway.
What I do know is that Ang Lee’s film version is a visual marvel. From the wild animals that accompany the opening credits all the way until the closing credits the detail and beauty that appear onscreen is astonishing.
A writer searching for a story tracks down a now middle aged Pi to his home in Canada, many years removed from the events that he will describe.
And indeed Pi informs the writer that he has come to the right place, and that he has a story that ‘will make him believe in the existence of God’. However, like a touring musician with a captive audience who intends to make you listen to all of his new stuff before busting out the hits, Pi says if you want the story, you’re getting the whole story.
But this is far more than the tale of ‘a boy and a tiger on a boat‘, though that is of course the core of our story.
So the film follows Pi’s life from his early childhood in India where his father owned a zoo placed on hotel grounds, all the way to his late teens when he learns at a family meeting that the zoo is to be closed, with the animals and the family moving to Canada where the animals will be sold to fund their new life.
‘Great’ thinks Pi, having just snared the hottest young lady in town…
When the freighter ship sinks in a huge storm during the voyage and Pi finds himself on a lifeboat, of course it is unexpected. But not as unexpected as the cast of his fellow survivors. Initially a young zebra and hyena, with an orang-utan following, and of course a fully grown Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker – thanks to a paperwork mix up.
Quirky name or not, a tiger is still a tiger, and a tiger suddenly finding himself on a lifeboat in the turbulent ocean full of chattering animals and a skinny Indian youth can prove an unpredictable threat.
It turns out being territorial becomes intensified the less territory you have to protect.
Pi is no dumb bunny (or Richard Parker would have eaten him too), after watching the animals do what animals do – leaving only the big orange stripey one as you might expect – he fashions a dinghy out of life jackets, oars and rope, climbs aboard and allows it to trail along behind the lifeboat awaiting rescue.
But none is forthcoming. Not for days, weeks and ultimately many months. Pi and Richard Parker initially keep to their own spaces, with Richard Parker being top dog… cat. Pi knows this pattern can’t continue if he is to survive, so over time he keeps himself busy by reading the lifeboat emergency guide, attempting to ‘train’ Richard Parker’, or at least as far as he is allowed.
With both passengers severely weakened, Pi uses his faith to maintain focus. While always an animal lover the bond between he and Richard Parker strengthens over time, though Pi always reminds himself that this buddy can tear a hole in him at any time should he drop his guard.
During the long journey Pi sees fascinating and beautiful sea life gorgeously realised on film, with a school of flying fish being both a peril and a visual highlight. A sequence in which Pi and Richard Parker encounter thousands of meerkats is also a trip.
Life of Pi is incredible to look at, with a fascinating and heart warming story. It is well acted and always interesting, and perhaps the only film since Avatar where I felt compelled to mention the effectiveness of the 3D effects.
Newcomer Suraj Sharma performs a miraculous job in his very first film, playing for most of the film by himself, or against a pretend tiger. This is because Richard Parker is 99% a computer generated creature, and there were many scenes where I forgot this fact, given how life like he is. If there was an Oscar category for Best Supporting Tiger, I would consider him a shoe-in.
Final Rating – 8 / 10. The best looking film of the year comes in a tail… tale, of survival and a most unlikely friendship.
