Life of Pi Review

Life of Pi, based on the book of the same name, is a tragically inspiring story. The story follows the life and adventure of Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel from his youth in India, the country of his birth, where he discovered and practiced various religions, and crafted his nickname “Pi” due to the ridicule of the similarity between his name “Piscine” and the word “pissing,” through his teenage years, where he and his family uproot themselves from India and head toward a new life in Canada. The tragedy occurs in the form of a shipwreck, through which he becomes an orphan, as his parents, brother, and all other ship crew members and passengers are killed, except for “Richard Parker,” a zebra, hyena, and orangutan. The recount of Pi’s early life is given by his older self, told to a young writer, who was told to seek him out because of his unbelievably unique story.

A film with very little dialogue outside of the narrative between Pi’s older self and the writer, it is reminiscent of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s “Castaway,” or Pixar’s “Wall-E,” where the events of the adventure are the storyteller. Not to mislead, Pi is accompanied by “Richard Parker,” a bengal tiger, where, through their unlikely relationship, this tale has much heart. For such a film as this to excel, it calls upon those said events to hold such a power to captivate it’s audience, and, in this respect, it shines.

With a heavy reliance on computer generated graphics, Life of Pi risks becoming an annoyance with all CG animals, an island, and sky reflecting ocean. It is a gamble that pays off in stunning ways, as it retains a naturalism that many other films lose. Anyone can tell at a glance it is CGI simply because there are so many unreal things here, yet the film manages to capture one in the beauty of those fantastical moments.

An impressive fact to note about Life of Pi is Suraj Sharma, the young man who plays Pi as he is going through his drifting days at sea, is not even an actor, or he at least was not until he played the character here. He did a really good job, so it will be interesting to see if he chooses to continue acting. 

Being such a unique story, which was first a book that reportedly led many to believe that it was impossible to successfully adapt as a motion picture, it likely will not appeal to every person. However, I believe it is very entertaining, and that those who, without a great deal of skepticism, give it a chance, will like it, too.

9/10

Thomas Landrum