A boy and his tiger

Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi reaches the screen in spectacular fashion thanks to Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Brokeback Mountain). The largest part of the film features two characters – one human, one animal – adrift at sea, and Lee makes sure to provide some breath-taking ocean-bound imagery as the film unfolds. From the star covered skies mirrored in a flat ocean surface to phosphorous night-time aquatic visitations, Life of Pi is, if nothing else, visually tantalizing viewing. Even the 3D is functional; I could hear audience members gasp for breath during a storm sequence and also where Lee allows us to enter a frame in a comic book.

Life of Pi tells the story of Pi Patel who leaves India for Canada after his father decides to relocate the family to the West for financial reasons. Along for the boat ride are all of the family’s animals that they acquired while running a zoo, including a Bengal tiger called Richard Parker after a name registration mishap. A savage storm hits, and Pi (Suraj Sharma) finds himself on a lifeboat with the tiger, a hyena and a zebra. The film details Pi’s attempts to stay alive and not lose hope while caught between the pitiless if beautiful sea and a hungry carnivore. Throughout, Pi finds his faith in God tested as sharks circle the boat and the sun beats down relentlessly. The story is framed by a journalist interviewing the adult Pi (Irrfan Khan) on his extraordinary adventure, a tale that, according to Pi’s uncle, will make a man believe in God.

But it’s best to not think too much of the film’s religious dimensions, which get increasingly fluffy towards the film’s end. Pi’s initial interest in various religions is entertaining and sympathetic, and once he is out to sea, his faith is a necessity for survival. As an adventure based on the relationship between a boy and a tiger and as a psychological drama the film works like a charm, but as a spiritual film, it’s a real meringue. The final explanation of how the story makes one believe in God is a horrible theological cop-out. 

Yet I remain in awe of the film’s visual effects, and with how much emotional heft Lee invests Pi’s relationship with Richard Parker. Lee establishes the animal as predator kept alive by instinct, but as Pi explains, there’s more to animals, and to the tiger in particular, than just basic instincts.It's a gripping story of survival and resilience; don't be too put off by the design-your-own-brand approach to religion.

Short Cuts

A few quick reviews.

Ang Lee is, if nothing else, a versatile filmmaker. The man that gave us a psychologically motivated “Hulk”, the Emma Thompson “Sense and Sensibility” adaptation and more recently “Brokeback Mountain”, the hetero love story with boys, now gives us the spy drama “Lust, Caution”. The film is a slow burning spy thriller, treading the same terrain as Verhoeven's "Zwartboek", and is written by collaborator James Schamus. It's a well crafted tale of deception and love in a time when it took both to survive, especially as a woman. The film's slow narrative won't sit well with most viewers and it's light on action, but Lee's drama yields rewards for those inclined to so-called 'art house' cinema.

Geek-favourite Neil Gaiman’s ("Stardust") film with long-time frequent collaborator Dave McKean, “Mirrormask”, is a visual mess that, ironically, and fatally for a film trying to be “imaginative”, loses the viewer the moment we exit reality to enter fantasy. Some appealing performances can only do so much to buoy this lame brained effort. Trite.

How unfortunate that Will Smith’s foray into the superhero genre ends up being the first half of a much better, never-to-be-seen feature film. Clocking in at 81 minutes, “Hancock” leaves everything barely explained. The film’s climactic battle ends up playing out as the foretelling of a much more significant confrontation with evil that never happens. A mildly entertaining wasted opportunity.