STEP INSIDE YOUR OWN MIND : "LIFE OF PI"

Ok, confession time. I was so impressed by this film, and I mean, so SERIOUSLY impressed that it played a large part in my delaying the update for a day. My sincere apologies. But it was so good, I literally couldn’t wait a whole week to talk about it. And, ok, credit where it’s due, I did have a reasonable amount of time to write the entry. That’s when the turkey and potatoes got in the way. And I actually had other posts ready but… You see… Come on though. I know you’ll forgive me. It’s Christmas. And besides, it’s Ang Lee. He just happens to be one of my favourite directors.  And this film soared to the top ten of my favourite films ever almost the second I finished it; all this without reading the book at all I might add.

Life of Pi is the story of many things. Life, religion, philosophy… It is one of those stories that you can make whatever you feel it should mean. This is actually rather strange, because on the surface it doesn’t seem to be one of those stories at all. Pi is a young boy of 16 when he is shipwrecked. He is lucky enough to find himself in a lifeboat with supplies enough to keep him going for a while at least. However, he is not alone on the boat. A large and vicious Bengal tiger, part of the ship’s cargo, has also made its way onto the lifeboat… Pi must now attempt to survive being shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a Bengal tiger and, maybe the most frightening aspect of all, being completely and utterly alone with himself…

Ok, first of all, the film. I mean, wow. The film is stunning, first and foremost as a film in itself. Lee is, as you may know, a master at creating and conveying dream-like “film worlds”. He does not fail here. In fact, I can almost guarantee you that the visuals of the film alone will ensure you leave the cinema mildly – if not completely – stunned. This is also a good example of using the CGI in an understated way. Here, yes most things are computer generated. However, no big explosions, no dragons, nothing is overdone. I mean, the realism of the film is to the degree that, the rest of the family was in some division over whether some bits were actual photography or not. It is my professional opinion that most of it was not but I can’t help but be impressed. You can actually use computers to make “fake” images look almost better than real life.  And if that isn’t something to think about, I don’t know what is.

But of course, this isn’t the only “thing to think about” the film provides. As you can imagine (or perhaps already know as I seem to be literally the only person on the planet who hasn’t read the book yet) the book is, more than anything else, an invitation to consider some of the most important philosophical questions in life. As the story unfolds, the number of possible interpretations also grows and we are, at the end of the day, left alone with ourselves, much like Pi, to consider what really happened. And please don’t be put off by the concept of “philosophising”. It is not that kind of film at all. It will draw you in gently and almost despite yourself. I mean, trust me, even if it isn’t normally your thing, you won’t be able to help thinking about it.  Come on. Step right in. You know you’re at least curious by now.