Life of Pi: Hollow Visual Feast or Philosophical Wonder?

As usual, on an uneventful day the call of the cinema was almost irresistible (I sometimes wonder if I am single-handedly supporting the film industry). But what to watch? Life of Pi seemed the obvious choice, supposedly a literary classic turned in to a phenomenal feat of film-making. But from the trailer it seemed to be a repetitive series of attacks by a tiger on a bedraggled boy in a boat. The visuals looked impressive, but this preview suggested the main enjoyment would be derived from animal based visions of wonderment. This however was not the case.

What the film turned out to be was intelligent and philosophical. It begins in a subdued manner, where the main themes of water (the main character is named after a French swimming pool), animals and God are introduced (an interesting mix to say the least). But the action really begins when Pi and his family are caught in a storm. Pi is the only survivor, whisked off into the tempestuous seas as the ship plummets into the icy depths. After this there's little discrepancy between the real and the imaginary.

In inexperienced hands the large section of the movie where Pi is lost at sea could become extremely tedious. But instead his impossible situation is made riveting. He's a vegetarian (he bursts into tears when he kills a fish) and has to survive against all the odds and care for a Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker (loaded with significance if you have a detailed knowledge of shipwrecks and cannibals) or risk been eaten. At this stage, the visuals are truly beautiful, probably the most spectacular I have seen in a film (it helped that I saw it in 3D). The ocean was made to appear truly spectacular, often illuminated by an eerie greenish glow to expose the many creatures swimming in the perfectly clear waters.

In the end we're presented with a touching portrait of a cruel world, but one that can somehow take us to God (and the film is open to most Gods, Pi follows three religions). Pi's relationship with the tiger is both touching and intriguing, and could be taken to represent coming to know and love a seemingly cruel God or (more disturbingly) doing battle with and eventually giving in to our inner animal instinct. Life is shown to both give and take (through the bizarre metaphor of a carnivorous island in the shape of a Hindu God which supports life during the day and devours everything at night) but in the end "all of life is an act of letting go, but what hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye". It all could be incredibly bleak, Pi loses everything, but we're encouraged to accept the transient nature of our lives.

The ending is one that rivals the likes of The Sixth Sense and The Life Before Her Eyes. It changes your perception of everything that came before, and is a brilliant way to round of a hugely enjoyable piece of cinema.

Ang Lee must be congratulated for making such a breathtaking film. His previous work is a strange mix of Jane Austin, hulking green superheroes and gay cowboys. He has succeeded in making a truly wonderful film out of a supposedly unfilmable novel. And in saying that we must give credit to Yann Martel's deeply intelligent book that it's all based on, which I admit I am yet to read.

Suraj Sharma gives a decent performance as Pi, skillfully managing to keep the film interesting when there's just him and a tiger. Irrfan Khan narrates wisely as the adult Pi, and Rafe Spall puts in a nice cameo as a writer who hopes to be inspired by Pi's story. They all manage to portray credible characters without fireworks or bizarre over the top character traits. Essentially, they make their characterisations subtle to allow the visuals and deeper meaning of it all to grab our attention.

Life of Pi is almost certainly one of the best films I've seen this year, and I believe it is a triumph of modern cinema that intelligent and though-provoking films such as this should be marketed towards a mainstream audience.

Rating: 9/10