User reviews

It's a shame that I didn't see this at the cinema, I can only imagine what a treat for the senses this was on the big screen. A visual masterpiece, and an intoxicating story of belief and friendship.

You must give so much credit to the team that produced this, not a book I would have thought easy to adapt, as it is so vague, the realisation is of course breathtaking, I absolutely loved it.

I've read comments about those that wanted action and dramatic scenes, this film isn't about the destination, it's about the journey.

Breathtaking, 9/10.

I was lucky enough to see Pi in full 3D Imax at a pre-viewing in San Diego last night, and as a huge fan of the book, I was intensely satisfied.

Believe it or not, I was more impressed with the the casting choices and performances of the players than by the effects. Granted, the movie was very beautiful, but in the end, Life Of Pi was more character driven than anything. Suraj Sharma as the young Pi was charming, funny, and incredibly engaging, while Irrfan Khan as the older Pi was fantastically genuine and warm. Adil Hussain as Pi's father was also a joy to watch. The characters are so rich and full of life that you really can't help but fall in love with them. I would also like to add, as someone who spends time with tigers on a daily basis, the animators did a wonderful and accurate job of bringing Richard Parker to life and making him the active and vital character that is so incredibly essential to the success of this story.

I would recommend seeing Pi in 3D, but I don't think that's it's essential to your viewing enjoyment. The 3D just takes a beautiful film and makes it a little bit nicer. Also, if you've read the book and are concerned that the story you loved may have been compromised in anyway, worry no longer. This is easily, one of the best book to film adaptations I have ever seen.

Happy viewing folks. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did. I'll be seeing it again in theaters very soon.

With his latest movie, "Life of Pi", Ang Lee further establishes himself as one of the greatest contemporary movie directors. Starting from his Taiwanese beginnings, and his highly enjoyable, family-harmonizing "Father Knows Best" trilogy (1992-1994), through his Academy Award winning works on gracefully choreographed, highly spiritualized Far East martial arts tour de force "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000, best foreign-language film) and on an uncommon yet nostalgic portrayal of the Old West in "Brokeback Mountain" (2005, best director), to his other titles like "Sense and Sensibility" (1995), "The Ice Storm" (1997), and "Lust, Caution" (2007), quality and Kubrick-like versatility shown in his movies offer continuous attraction for wide audience of his admirers.

Lee's latest and, so far, easily, greatest movie, "Life of Pi" is based on a screenplay adapted from the acclaimed fictional adventure novel written by Canadian author Yann Martel.

Throughout his childhood, due to matching pronunciation of French word "piscine" (pool, swimming pool) and English word "pissing", Piscine Molitor Patel, named that way after later abandoned Parisian swimming pool, so predictably suffers from being nicknamed "Pissing Patel". In order to avoid it, once in high school he finally shortens his name to Pi Patel... Nowadays middle-aged Pi tells the story of his life to a visiting writer, apparently a book author Yan Martel's alter ego, who is seeking for the literal inspiration. Retrospectively, Pi divides his childhood and adolescence into three segments. In the first segment he gives shorter account of his life until the age of 16, describing his interaction with his family and schoolmates, in particular his relationship with his father and a girlfriend, concentrating on his exploits of God and spirituality, meandering between multitude of religious practices… while in the last one he briefs about his testimonial given to officials from the Japanese Ministry of Transport, investigating the reasons why the ship his family was relocating on from India to Canada sank. Most detailed, and therefore the longest, is recollection of his 227 days in a lifeboat, an extraordinary ordeal he went through after the ship has capsized and everybody else, crew and passengers, died…

…Well, everybody human, but not everybody living. Namely, a number of terrestrial animals from their discontinued family zoo, offered for sale and brought along with other family belongings, have survived, too. But, not for long, because, while confined in the most limited space as they were, surrounded by vastness of the ocean, the law of the "survival of the fittest" prevails, takes its tall, and pretty soon Pi finds himself in a company of a single one topping the food-chain, a Bengal tiger curiously named Richard Parker.

Not to reveal the story further, it is with greatest pleasure to inform that cinematic excellence has been achieved in several categories: in an engaging tale—whether allegory or depiction of realistic, believable events, filled with protagonist's rarely matched curiosity, imagination and his often reasonably unanswered doubts, encouraging the same in viewers—of an uncommon character, indeed, brought to on-screen life by outstanding performances from two contributing leads, remarkably presented via ubiquitous, yet inconspicuous animation, exceptional, CGI aided visuals and superb usage of 3D photography, all along complemented with an uplifting score. All these assets work seamlessly together in unfolding an intense relationship between Pi and Richard Parker, complex yet basic, difficult yet simple, initially charged with Pi's dreadful fear, swiftly shifting to respectful care, instantly boosting his never overbearing confidence and relentlessly improving his survival skills. Wholesome artistic experience reaches and maintains its pinnacle particularly in clever tactics and constructive survival techniques 16-year old Pi uses—amply benefiting from his instructive lifestyle of a zoo owner's attentive son, certainly well acquainted with animal psychology—to suppress the fear and convincingly impose himself as an equal to the one of the most elaborate "killing machines" among mammals, desperately striving for his own survival, nevertheless, generously, for survival of his seemingly sufficiently tamed companion, but still, initially and ultimately, magnificent adversary, Richard Parker, as well.

"Life of Pi" is, certainly, one of the most impressive movies of 2012, year that has just come to a close.

''I had to tame him,'' (Pi) realizes. ''It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me. We were, literally and figuratively, in the same boat." From Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

You will see no more imaginative film this year than Life of Pi, whose conceit of a young Indian boy stranded with a Bengal Tiger in a lifeboat amid the Pacific Ocean is fantastical yet real in its metaphoric implications. While the framing device of a story told to a stranger uses the old flashback, the lonely lifeboat is as new as any story told in the last century.

The film begs interpretation from the multiplicity of religions to the place of mankind in a hostile, Darwinian world. Ultimately the benign brotherhood of beasts and humans is affirmed not so much by lofty philosophy but by the necessity of man and beast working together to survive.

The digital rendering of animals, especially the Bengal Tiger, is beautiful to behold. The opening scene in Pi's family zoo could be right out of Terence Malick's visionary camera, a montage of nature gorgeous in its simplicity. The several formalistic shots of the boat at night are worthy of the best lighting in the best aquariums in the world. Together with the impressive use of 3D, director Ang Lee has visually taken us from the opulence of Crouching Tiger and the minimalism of Brokeback Mountain into a fusion world of fancy and reality. The images are stunning.

In the end, Lee is interested in the individual's place in the universe as he struggles to harness nature and yet live in harmony with these elements. The conflict with the gross cook aboard the Japanese cargo ship taking Pi's family and animals to Canada is emblematic of the challenges facing the gifted with the groundlings. Pi's relationship with tiger "Richard Parker" represents all mankind's struggle to live in harmony with the forces it cannot control.

"Believing in everything is the same as believing in nothing," says Pi's father because Pi samples religions from Hinduism and Buddhism to Catholicism and Judaism and wants them all. Although it is not given to us to have them all, Pi's piety practically makes us believers in the universal brotherhood.

The Life of Pi is everyone's life; the film is one of the best of the year and, even remembering the greatness of The Old Man and the Sea, Moby Dick, and Billy Budd, the best you will ever see about a boy, a tiger, and a boat.

The movie narrates an incredible story using the most beautiful special effects and great actors.

It is more that a survival story and it is not about friendship. This story is about faith. Director Ang Lee use all the tools he have to make this movie about a solitary young man not a boring one. It is narrated by both, young Pi and the Adult Pi, it uses music all the time so there is not space for uncomfortable silents and the rhythm of the scenes is fast. The result a very entertained film.

The most important thing of this film is it character. It is obvious because we are seeing for almost 2 hours just one character. So it is not only important to have a great character that appeals to the audience feelings, but to have an actor that portray this person the right way. Suraj Sharma was brilliant as Pi. He can make happy scenes as equal as sad, desperate, hopelessness, exhaustion and anger ones. Very few movies allow an actor represent so many emotions.

But if Pi is a good character, Richard Parker can only be describe as unique. The tiger as personality of it's own. Not many films can make an animal with so many human features and yet never stop being a wild animal. This tiger is computed animated but the audience will barely notice, because the way it walks, eats, its factions, the eyes. It doesn't matter if it is computer animation, Richard Parker is alive and is his own character just as important as Pi is.

If you think that "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" have good animal effects, you have to see how this people make a zebra, a hyena and a orangutan. All this, combine with a photography created by the same guy that make "Tron: Legacy" looks so cool and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" so beautiful, Claudio Miranda, makes it an incredible experience to see.

This movie is definitely an Oscar runner for Special Effects, Cinematography, Director and Movie of the year.

When I heard that the film adaptation of LIFE OF PI was being released, I made sure to go and read the novel beforehand so I could compare it to the movie. I'm not a huge fan of Ang Lee and his overrated CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this. But I needn't have worried; this is a great movie, a film that fully explores the splendour of cinema and on-screen storytelling, and a film that's better than the book.

The early and, quite frankly, boring parts of the novel are summarised well so that the storytelling is always on the move. The focus is on the survival narrative, which is as it should be, and the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker is brought to vivid and moving life. Sure, there are the occasional mis-steps along the way, like an ill-advised and tacked-on romance, but for the most part they get it right. The CGI is wondrous, especially the animals and an eye-popping shipwreck, and the story is moving, tender in places and full of heart. I'm not ashamed to say I had tears in my eyes in parts, and it's all down to Richard Parker, who must go down as one of the great animal characters in cinema. A great example of filming the unfilmable.

Few movies will leave a lasting impression on you..Life of Pi is one of those. Not even a single moment is dull, in fact the story is woven so tightly that you never realize that the script is so simple. It is beautifully directed and kudos to Ang Lee, not only was he able to capture the beauty of India, he was also able to get the best of the actors. Though it does not rank too high on 3D, its just visually mesmerizing. My trust and faith in Ang Lee has gone up to the highest level after watching this movie..Luckily I was able to catch the premiere show and will continue to relish the after effects of the movie for the next few days!

I read "Life of Pi" a couple of years ago while I was touring around Europe and I found it to be a mildly-entertaining book which touched lightly on the philosophical side. It was no surprise to me then, when I discovered Ang Lee's faithful film adaptation to be exactly that - mildly entertaining, touching lightly on the philosophical side.

I believe a lot of people came to watch this movie with many different expectations, from those who wanted to watch a realistic sea-survival movie, contrasted by those who believed it would offer something truly deep and significant philosophically. Both these camps will be disappointed. As Jonathan Romney says in the IOS review "Life of Pi is fatally scuppered by coy, bogus mysticism." Conversely, as you will read on the message boards here at IMDb (spoilers abound there, be forewarned!) a lot of people couldn't even handle the philosophy-lite that was on offer and were "disappointed" that it wasn't the straight- forward boy-lost-at-sea-with-a-tiger story it falsely claimed to be (*deep breath*). Hey everybody, this film will not change your life. It will provide you with some inoffensive entertainment for a couple of hours, and probably little more.

"Life of Pi" - whether in book-form or in this adaptation - is neither high art, nor gruelling adventure. What it actually is is a fantasy story, framed at the edges with a smidgeon of realism in an attempt to add a soupçon of depth and food-for-thought. Approach the film as such and you may well enjoy it.

As a heavily CGI-ed film it provides at times a stunning visual work. Again reviewers have been mixed, some claiming that the over-playing of visuals falls into the garish, and attempts to wash over the philosophical shallowness of the movie. Well, CGI is the trend today; it has some benefits, but the overall effect of digitally rendering your characters and sceneries is bound to leave something missing soul-wise. "Life of Pi" is pretty enough to look at, but personally I think much more could and would have been made of it if it was adapted as an (classic style) animation.

I'd mark the film as 6.5 (it made my partner cry), but I'm rounding down this time because of the sudden wave of sycophancy present on IMDb, meaning that every film that comes out has 8-point-something (corporate presence?). Either way, a pleasant break from Hollywood aggression, and worth a watch.

Ang lee's life of pi is an adaptation of a 'Man booker prize winner' novel by the same name, written by Yann Martel. It's a story set in the late seventies of an Indian teenager (Pi Patel) who is stranded on a life boat in the pacific. What distinguishes this tale of survival from the rest is that the author dishes out a delicious slice of creativity in giving the castaway, a tiger for a companion. Yes, like the posters and trailers have you believe, there is a boat on which a man and a tiger have to live! This makes 'life of pi' not only a story of human struggle against nature but also a profound tale that questions 'what separates man from beast?'. More interestingly, 'when does man become a beast'?

But worry not, Ang Lee's movie does not force you think on these lines , instead it's a film that lets you enjoy it on so many levels. If you are just looking for a beautiful 3D movie to feast your eyes , Life of pi can be it. If you are in a mood for a thrilling adventure epic on weekend, this is the right ticket. If indeed, you want to experience something thoughtful, Life of pi never forces you on a particular thought, instead it whispers ever so slightly to think about matters of human disposition and finding comfort in convention while caressing your senses with fabulous visuals and background score.

Suraj Sharma debuts as pi with utter sincerity while Irfan Khan(as adult pi) and Tabu(as mother) do justice to their parts. The rest of the supporting cast blend in perfectly too. Ang lee helms the film with difficult source material with absolute grace and expertise. However there are two true heroes that make Life of Pi work. Firstly the studio and creative director behind the magnificent CGI. The Bengal tiger is perhaps the best animated animal ever created! The angry green eyes, richly textured orange –white striped skin and every hair on its fur look rich and full of life in 3D.And then when your hear the thunderous roar for the first time, you will realize this is as real as it can get! The rest of the animals (a Zebra, an orangutan) look great too. The lovely blue ocean and its resident creatures are the jewel in the crown. The other hero is the writer David Magee(screenplay) who adapts the novel with near perfection. One gripe the fans of the novel might have is the lack of all the gore descriptions and a particular chapter that deals with the surviving 'French cook'. The addition of these might have pleased the audience who sought for the philosophical undertones from the story but the film would have lost out on the large PG-13 crowd (a fair deal considering the enormous budget).

Life of Pi, is a rare masterpiece that stands as a prototype not only for a perfect book adaptation and a 3D movie( sorry avatar, you have just been replaced), but also for a movie based on intricacies of human nature . Now that is simply an impressive triumph of film-making!

There are a lot of positive and admirable things about Ang Lee's latest Life of Pi. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda captures the most uproarious and glorious shots captured this year thus far. The 3D effects are some of the best ever seen and feels absolutely necessary in a film so heavy handed with religious tones. What Mychael Danna achieves in Lee's film has just placed him in the forefront of great film composers working today. He continues to impress with his musical range, envelopes the film's message and thematic narrative in somber and beautiful melodic notes. On Visual Effects alone, Life of Pi will likely land a nomination for Best Picture. What Lee invents with the ocean and the integration of the tiger and the other animals is spectacular. He allows the mood of the film and the imagery to marry each other in a ceremonial experience that stands next to Sci-Fi epics like Avatar (2009) and Hugo (2011).

Newcomer Suraj Sharma puts a valiant effort in the role of "Pi," a performance that may land him more critical and impressive roles in the future. The work is reminiscent of great breakthrough performers like Rudy Youngblood (Apocalypto, 2006) and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, 2008); both were impressive turns but sadly will not catch any awards attention. Irrfan Kahn, who has delivered in great supporting turns like The Namesake (2006) and A Mighty Heart (2007), could have his best chance ever for serious awards attention. His hurdle will be a minimal screen presence and a supporting actor race that's crowded with "movie stars."

Lee directs the film with a firm hand. He knows what he wants to say and for the most part gets his message across. Unfortunately an unfocused and at times jumbled screenplay by the great David Magee creates an atmosphere that relies more on the visuals then the narrative. Also, I'm unfamiliar with the book by Yann Martel, never read it before, so I have nothing to compare it to but much of the story's elements of surprise feel rather cheap and ill-fitting. Not sure how it will play with others but the film remains pretty consistent on the entertainment sector.

Lee explains his preparation for the film at the New York Film Festival with such passion and delight. He speaks about getting Sharma properly prepared by placing him on a boat in the middle of the ocean and meeting a real life shipwreck survivor; Lee's love for the project comes through, all four years in the making. It's a directorial achievement that the Director's branch of the Academy could easily get behind.

The film lands solidly on the front door of awards season with ease and could rally a loyal legion of followers. Look out for the National Board of Review to kick it off…I can almost put money on it.

Read more reviews @ The Awards Circuit (http://www.awardscircuit.com)

Just finished watching the Midnight Premiere. Did not disappoint one bit. The Acting is incredibly believable, and the ending ties it all together. The story sorta drags in the beginning, but Ang Lee did a good job keeping my attention to the film. The Animation is incredibly realistic. I couldn't tell the difference between what was real and what wasn't. Not one moment did I doze off. Definitely worth 127 minutes of your life. Ang Lee, you did an outstanding job. To the Cast, you all did excellent. I am very satisfied! Although there were a lot of pros, there were some cons. At one point the Format of the Film switched from 16:9 to 4:3, but that might have been the projector at the Cinemark I attended. I also noticed some of the animations of animals started to go off screen and you could see the animated objects in the black area of the Wide Screen part (I'm assuming that was for the 3D, but I watched it in 2D so it looked sketchy). But it's minor. An average viewer won't even notice it, I'm an aspiring filmmaker, and I notice the little things!! I enjoyed the film, and you will too. 9/10. Worth it.

Life of Pi is a difficult movie to review.

Certain to be one of the year's most widely-discussed films, in part because it's open to multiple interpretations, this is a bold cinematic achievement by Oscar-winning director Ang Lee.

Yet, it's also fundamentally flawed, its most puzzling script gaps camouflaged by extraordinary special effects and first-rate performances by the actors who portray the lead character at different stages of his life. Indeed, the varied imagery and wide range of emotional demands upon the actors are so compelling that one might actually overlook the glaring contradiction within the film's most intriguing question — which deals with the storyteller's relationship with God. The film is such a powerful visual spectacle that the audience deserves an equally consistent storyline — and ultimately just as satisfying a payoff — which compliments the arduous endurance test of sitting through what feels like an overly-long 2 hour and 20 minute epic journey across the world's biggest ocean.

First, the basics. "Pi" is an Indian boy who enjoys an almost idyllic childhood. His early years are spent in a tropical seaside paradise located on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Pi's family owns and operates a zoo with several exotic animals.

When Pi becomes a teenager, his father decides to disband the zoo and move the entire family abroad. This leads to a life-changing adventure. To its credit, the story challenges many conventional assumptions about new immigrants. We assume immigrants are thrilled to be in a new homeland. But that's not always the case. After all, what child wants to be uprooted from a house near the beach, living happily among zoo animals — as is the case with Pi? I found this to be a powerful message — no doubt experienced by many very real immigrant children — which I had frankly never considered before. Sometimes, immigrants leave happy lives behind when forced to move elsewhere due to circumstances beyond their control.

The family and their prized zoo animals set off to Canada, which is to become their new home. Pi and his family board a cargo ship scheduled to cross the Pacific Ocean, with several wild animals from what had been the family zoo boarded in steerage.

A deadly typhoon changes everything. During the storm, Pi is thrown into an open lifeboat and is ultimately forced to survive on his own at sea. To make matters worse, but undoubtedly more interesting for the audience, some wild animals manage to find sanctuary inside the lifeboat with the terrified Pi. One of the animals that climbs aboard is a vicious Bengal tiger.

The story is entirely plausible up to this point. In the interest of avoiding spoilers for those who have not seen the movie, let's just say Pi and his beastly companion end up spending many months at sea together locked in a battle for supremacy and survival. As one can imagine, the demands which would be extraordinary were Pi sailing solo are magnified tenfold by the presence of a wild beast that views everything on the boat as his next tasty meal.

One thing which can be revealed is that Pi somehow manages to survive the ordeal. The story is told in flashbacks by an older and wiser Pi, ostensibly living somewhere in Canada in the present day. These segments introduce the film's most puzzling assertion.

The movie includes strong religious overtones throughout. Pi's early years are spent searching for God and the right religion to join. This is a pervasive theme throughout all stages of the film — setting up the central character's most poignant moment of self-discovery. This takes place when the adult Pi, now in his early 40s, reveals to the listener that the perilous sea voyage enabled him to better know and understand God. The reflection is largely positive.

Alas, Pi spends considerable time praising God as his savior at sea. After all, the necessities for survival were ultimately provided to him.

And therein lies the glaring contradiction. Pi reveres the same God who essentially murdered his entire family, needlessly sent dozens of innocent animals off to a torturous and terrifying death, and transformed him into an orphan in a strange land — not to mention having to endure a terrorizing ordeal on the high seas for 227 days. If God is to be praised for providing precious food and water at opportune moments while exposed at sea for months on end, shouldn't the same divinity also bear the blame for causing so much death and misery in the first place? "Gee God — thanks for the tuna and rainwater. I guess that's payback for drowning my giraffe, two elephants, plus my mom and dad." Moreover, the beautiful imagery becomes something of a distraction. Several short interludes interrupt Pi's struggle at sea, which show off a kaleidoscope of splendor. Unfortunately, these scenes in no way serve to advance the story nor answer any of the fundamental questions and judgments which Pi is entitled to make following his experience.

Life of Pi is not a film for children. It's being promoted as an action-adventure with a boy as the star, and various animals as the supporting cast. But these are not Disney animals. They are wild beasts capable of killing in an instant. There are several scenes of savagery, which left may children screaming and crying in the showing I attended. For those expecting to see Beauty and the Beast at sea, think again.

In summation, this is a spectacular cinematic achievement, which will undoubtedly be rewarded at Oscar time. Deservedly so.

Everyone will take away something different away from this movie. My interpretation is that life — even when filled with the prospect of danger and death — can be mesmerizing, even beautiful. However, as a spiritual awakening, this is a movie which cannot be rescued. That message remains aimlessly adrift at sea.

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According to mythology the journey of life is splayed with different forms of hurdles, the path to salvation lies in standing tall against such hurdles even if the Gods are callous to your understanding. By maintaining hope we try to live up to their expectation, knowing that God will guide us if we keep fighting on our endeavor for greater good. That's pretty much the whole and soul of the movie. Opened first time in India at IFFI 2012 Goa, I was in the mix of lucky few who got to watch the repeat show of this 3D movie adapted from Yann Martel's book of same title.

Piscine Molitor(Pi) Patel as he was named after a swimming pool by his dear uncle apparent by his ardent love for the same. Piscine is born Hindu in Pondicherry India, but as he levels a understanding he begins to peek into other religion and sooner he starts endorsing Christianity and Islam also. His father, a zoo owner pounces upon a chance of relocating the zoo to Canada. On their way to far west with animals on a Japanese ship, tragedy struck on a murderous stormy night capsizing the ship with Pi and a Royal Bengal Tiger left to see the remains. And so the adventures journey of innocent young boy with life threatening feline animal begins.

There was the thunderous applause from the audiences when the tiger gives his first appearance in the safety boat. Spending months to produce the Tiger didn't go waste too, he looked inch perfect and the way he has been handled in the movie is exquisite. The first few scenes are reminiscent of old India with bullock carts, later the landscape changes and so do the people. The characters of hot blooded modern day father, the supporting mother and the story involving the tender love between the protagonist and the girl are delightful however short they may be. The innocence of young Pi through his school years and his introduction to motley of faiths sets up the foundation to his uncanny characterization. But the real fun starts when they are both lost at sea and Pi tries assortment of ideas to keep him as well as the Tiger alive. The movie is never complete without the mention of adequately yet delicately used VFX. It would really be a shame to put into words those magnificently shot sequences and the scale on which the art work is done. This movie epitomizes the correct com-mixture of story with special effects. I could gather so many 'wows' while I was myself devouring on the same scenes. The humor is well prevalent and does lighten up the few still scenes between the two.

Suraj Sharma plays the most significant role in the movie with all his efforts and he wins it in the end. The guy is awesome handling some tough intense scenes in the movie. Irfan Khan playing the narrator as well as the older Pi shows his maturity in the business, patient with the small parts he never misses his character and his narration and dialog's delivery is to die for. Adil Hussain as Pi's father is superb with his character and does contribute a hell lot. Other actors contribute evenly including the computer generated zoo animals. Real salute to the art directors of the movie for putting up such beautiful pictures on screen. Ang Lee is as always incomparable with his cinema, he has definitely reached shore with this movie and a more versatile director in my book.

The older promises the character he is narrating that he will prove him that God exists, well did he or not? For that you have to wait for that amazing climax scene. This is art, storytelling and VFX at his best in a single movie. Who would want to miss that??

Life of Pi is one of the most marvelous theater experiences I've had all year. Its Oscar for art direction and cinematography should already be locked in. It's a film of incorruptible beauty and deeply satisfying drama which squeezes so much power and emotion out of its audience that they leave feeling riveted at the same time drained. You can bet the film's main character feels the exact same way.

Our main character is an adult named Piscine Molitor, who goes by the name "Pi Patel," and we meet him as an adult (played by Irrfan Khan) who begins telling his long life-story to a writer planning to adapt it (Rafe Spall). It's a story that tested him as a person in every possible way, and it all goes back to when his parents made the decision to move from India to Canada, and because Pi's father was a zookeeper, take many animals such as orangutans, zebras, goats, and tigers with them on an enormous ship across the Pacific Ocean. Before this move, Pi was an optimistic soul, who ventured out as a young boy beyond his comfort zone in his Hindu religion to seek out other walks of faith, specifically Christianity and Islam, which he began following all at once.

During the move, a wild, violent storm hits the ocean, flooding the ship and sending Pi, a zebra with a broken leg, a hyena, an orangutan, and a tiger named "Richard Parker" on a lifeboat, leaving behind the several other animals and Pi's entirely family. This whole sequence, which lasts around five minutes, feels like the entire movie The Perfect Storm shortened from its original two-hour length, only it emphasizes the emotional elements. This is one of the saddest scenes of the year, as we see a teenage Pi (now played by Suraj Sharma) desperately hold onto the lifeboat for dear-life, while being washed away from his mother, father, and siblings and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it. Between you and I, reader, this is one of the most emotionally upsetting scenes (this and the ending of the film) I've ever sat through in a theater.

Now, Pi is stranded in the middle of the Pacific, with an open sky, four different animals, until they are picked off with only the tiger remaining, and his own will to live. The remainder of the film forgoes the back-and-forth narrative between adult Pi telling the story to the writer, but remains focused on his own recollection of events on that lifeboat and the acts of bravery he committed to keep him and the tiger alive. While Pi and Richard Parker are sharing the boat, that does not mean they get along. Writer David Magee makes no mistake in illustrating that while they are stranded together, Pi is a human boy and Richard Parker is a Bengal tiger. The beauty of this picture is that it never mistakes that the only common traits between these two souls is that they are stranded together and both are mammals.

Life of Pi's visuals are astounding. Long shots that hold on the vast emptiness of the Pacific are invigorating because of their wide range of beauty and clarity, sequences of peril and uncertainty are captured through an equally clear, vivid lens, making them all the more real and enthralling, and atmospherically, the picture shows the dangers and the loneliness of the ocean better than any film I have yet to see.

Thematically, the picture focuses on predominately on the idea of survival and spirituality, which gratefully helps Pi keep hope and optimism during these gruelingly unforgiving days. One of the most intense and poignant scenes comes when Pi is faced with the task of killing a large fish. He is starving, and becoming skinnier by the day, so he fiercely grabs a fish out of the water and begins hacking at it with a small axe. When the fish is bloody and long dead, he begins to sob tears of joy and sadness; joy because he finally has a decent portion of food, yet sadness in the idea that he has killed a living creature and is about to abandon his vegetarian vow. It's a scene that, once more, clouded my eyes with tears, just like Pi's, of joy and sadness.

This is a picture of sheer power and beauty. A film that clearly tests its lead actor, Sharma, who is inhabiting his first main role, and a film that will hopefully go on to live with a reputation of one of cinema's supreme achievements. It must be said that in Ang Lee's twenty year film career that he has tackled almost every genre in the medium and done so with an extraordinary amount of confidence. His directorial efforts too have not been minor additions to the genre, but true game-changers if anything. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a martial arts film filled with depth and delight. Hulk was a superhero movie that added so much weight to its characters and relationships, you'd think Christopher Nolan's modern-day Dark Knight franchise was taking notes from it. And Brokeback Mountain was, for the most part, a lively portrayal of two men who've kept their orientation silent for so long that they begin to embrace it by meeting each other out of the blue. Life of Pi offers more of the same grandiose ideas from the brilliant visionaire and its shocking smoothness in terms of filming, placement, and writing is beyond fabulous and wildly consuming because of its clarity. This is one of the best films of the year, and on-par with the depth and cinematography in Samsara, making this year one of the most beautiful.

I have just finished reading the book the other day, and today I got to watch the film version. With the book still so fresh in my head, I went into the cinema with very high expectations. This is specially so after reading and hearing reviews which call Ang Lee's cinematic masterpiece visually comparable to "Avatar" or emotionally comparable to "The Little Prince," as well as all of the awards buzz.

The book for me was a pleasant though slow read because of the lengthy wordy, even flowery, descriptions Yann Martel uses for his languid reflection on zoo life, his comparative study of Hindu, Christian and Moslem philosophy, and of course, his survival tale at sea by a teenager and a Bengal tiger sharing one lifeboat. It waxes philosophical in the beginning, then waxes fantastical in the middle, before settling for dry reality at the end. While a movie could probably improve on the imagery for each scene, there are several key parts of the novel that would entail a lot of narration. On the big screen, too much narration cannot be too good.

My first assumption turned out to be true. The cinematography and visual effects were expectedly first rate and excellent. Those camera angles were breathtaking. The colors were very vibrant. The special effects regarding animals were realistic for the most part, especially the land mammals, particularly Richard Parker. Though I have to say that the water creatures were too obviously computer-generated, not too good. A most triumphant sequence in the film for me were the scenes on the floating green island of algae and meerkats. I thought that was ideally visualized and executed, so much better than that chapter of the book.

My second assumptions also turned out true. A lot of the story needed to be narrated by an adult Pi Patel as he was being interviewed by a novelist researching for his next book. These bookending present day scenes were pretty dry for me. The whole last chapter of the book when Pi was interviewed by the Japanese shipping officials was all one long narration only without supporting imagery. All of this talky narration may be boring for some people.

In order to make the film appeal to more people, Ang Lee spares us from gory details which the book was not averse to describing in graphic detail. In the film, the screen time of the zebra, orangutan and hyena was very short. For all the brutality that was supposed to have happened on board, Ang's lifeboat remains almost pristine white. I thought that was quite merciful of Ang. I wish I could also say the same for some sappy melodramatic scenes, like Richard Parker laying his head on Pi's lap, which were not in the book.

Overall, this film version of "Life of Pi" is very good, but it can be disappointing for people who have read the book. It was a loyal albeit sanitized version of the book, which is not really a bad thing. The book was not exactly inspirational to me, more educational actually. For this film, Ang Lee seemingly aspired to make this movie inspirational, and these obvious efforts may prove to backfire for some audiences.

Life of Pi (2012)

**** (out of 4)

Ang Lee's incredible tale of Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma), a teenage Indian boy who survives a ship sinking that kills everyone on board except for himself and a tiger. Soon the two are on board a lifeboat not knowing what their future holds. I had never heard of the novel that this film is based on and I had absolutely no idea what the film was about until about five months prior I saw a promotional piece while waiting to watch another movie. I actually went back to work joking about the picture because I couldn't believe anyone would try and make a movie about a boy, a tiger and a lifeboat but the joke is on me because Lee has created one of the more memorable, magical and uplifting films of the year. I was really shocked to see how tremendous the picture was but what makes it so special would have me giving away countless spoilers, which is something I'm certainly not going to do. I think it would be best for viewers to go into the picture knowing as little as possible but I can say that Lee has created one of the most beautiful pictures you're likely to see. The beautiful images are just so remarkable to look at that it's impossible not to get caught up in the scenery. Be it the early stuff in India or the breathtaking moments at sea, everything in this picture just lights up the screen. I'm really not a fan of CGI unless it's used properly. Too many times I think it's just used to be lazy and save money but that's not the case here as Lee perfectly mixes in the CGI with the live action stuff. The two coming together are practically flawless and that certainly helps bring one closer to the story and characters. Sharma does a terrific job and especially when you consider he'd never acted before and was basically having to carry the entire film. I was a little mixed on the 3D effects. While some where brilliant, for the most part I think the film would be viewed just fine in 2D as it would give one better colors. Still, no matter which version you see, the heart of the picture is in its soul, its character and the lessons he learns while being stuck out at sea for over two hundred days. LIFE OF PI is a really remarkable film that has so much going for it that it's clearly one of the year's best.

Life Of Pi is slow, Faux artsy and Faux Deep, and not always gripping or compelling. But, most of it's missteps are outweighed by the absolute audio visual symphony it offers. Filled with beautiful cinematography and Touching music to back, It's at times fascinating and Hopeful. It's not exactly profound, could be even shallow, and it's not exactly fantastic, But it's still a fairly well made film based on a fairly well written novel.

I'm going to go ahead and say it outright. This film flat out takes the cake for the most overrated film of the year. This is unwarranted and uninspired Oscar bate on a Hurt Locker level. For the first time in a very long time I have actually left a movie feeling I had wasted my money.

You all know the plot. A boy finds himself adrift at sea with a dangerous tiger after a horrific shipwreck. At the start of the film we are subjected to a meandering and drawn-out set up for themes and characters that do not even see a reprise or conclusion before the end of the film. It really felt like this film was stretching every scene and concept to a breaking point to fill the three hour artistic precedent established by previous Oscar winners like Return of the King. It just drags and drags until we are finally privy to the main plot. But then, the films biggest problem comes to a head: the theme.

The film's theme cannot even be adequately described as it lacks any focus or objectivity. It simply comes off as an overbearing theistic agenda slathered onto an unrelated story. It presents itself as a lesson about faith, but doesn't convey this message in any other fashion than saying "I had faith and I survived, therefore you should have faith." As a critical thinker, I simply counter the point by demonstrating that if a faithless person was put in the same position as the main character and made the same decisions (since none of these decisions were based his faith) they would have identical outcomes. There in lies the problem: the lesson is not demonstrated through means of the story or character progression. It is literally told to you every few scenes via frequent and uninspired narration. The first rule in screen writing is a simple one: Show, don't tell. After all, film is a visual medium. Apparently the screenwriter missed the memo.

What else is there to say? The acting was wooden. The score was big but not memorable. The only thing I can give to the film's credit is some beautiful cinematography and an effective use of 3D. But presentation is all for naught if the story is ineffective, and Life of Pi never once managed to grab me, move me or convince me of anything. It serves only as a colossal waste of money and time; my own and Hollywood's.

i just watched the 3D IMAX in Taiwan. Due to i'm big fan of Ang Lee, i look forward to this movie for a long time. I'd like to say this movie totally meet my anticipation. The animation was real and beautiful, so the scene was amazing. Some scene and action taking from different views was also impressive. This movie was pretty hot and being discussed much in my country now. Some scenes are taking in Taiwan. I did not watch the book so i can't compare between book and movie. I recommend 3D caused some view will really touch you. For kids it is alright cause some bloody scene was adjusted. I think it is more than a story, there are many points worthy of thinking. Nice try and nice working of Ang Lee!

By the time I got to see this film, the Oscars were long past and there already were a ton of reviews for "Life of Pi". On top of that, I have noticed that for big pictures which most everyone likes, I rarely have much to say. After all, I agree with the majority--"Life of Pi" is a very good film. So, my review will be brief.

THE reason to watch this film is pretty simple: You cannot say that the movie reminds you of anything you've ever seen before or since. Sure, you could try comparing "Life of Pi" to "Avatar"--but that is only because they both used gobs of CGI to create fantastic stories. But the story itself, is so original. In addition, the acting, direction and artistry of the movie is tops. While I would agree with the Oscar folks that "Argo" was a better film, it wasn't by much. Well worth your time.