Monday, December 31, 2012

Life of Pi

Also Exclusively published on Yahoo!



What makes Life of Pi appeal to me? Maybe it was the overuse of magic realism that made the film seem so surreal at times. It might also be the visual effects that stunned me. Most likely is the mind boggling conclusion to the film that required the audience's own interpretation. Life of Pi is an astounding story that is made with excellent visual effects and cinematography.




First, the story of an Indian boy who grew up at a zoo in an atheistic family learns religion on his own is a remarkable adventure. As a young boy, we see Piscine struggle with the concept of spirituality when he attempted to claim Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism at the same time. We notice that he can feel the animal's soul. However, it might just be his own reflection reflected back at him. The author of the original story, Yann Martel, employed magic realism to make the reader perceive the animals are alive. Director Ang Lee uses a unique camera view to make capture those moments on film. When Pi is feeding the tiger, we got a sense that the tiger was a human. It approached Pi slowly. We noticed a peculiar look in its eye. For a brief second, we almost forgot that those were the eyes of a fearsome tiger.




Second, the visual effects and the cinematography in some scenes reminded us of Avatar. When Pi looked at the glimmering stars, the camera showed us a view of the stars reflection in the water. The 3D effects made the water seem tangible to the audience. As whales and dolphins pass underneath the life boat, we watched them swim in crystal clear water. The glimmering light from the cosmos made Pi's journey look spiritual. The light from the stars made the water look more blue than usual. It reminded us of the glow in the dark trees on Pandora.




Finally, the conclusion of the film became an enigma. Audiences around the world began to analyze the events that unfolded in the film. We asked ourselves questions. Such questions include: Was his journey with the animals a metaphor for the grueling events that occurred on the boat? What really happened on the island? Did the island even existed? Was there even a tiger on the boat? Was the tiger a image of himself as an animal?




To conclude, Life of Pi was a deeply philosophical film, where the audience has to think deeper thoughts. It made us wonder about our own religious beliefs. Pi's journey across the Pacific Ocean made him grow into a man with more mature outlooks on life. People go through this rite passage when they transition from a child to an adult.