Life of Pi is an Ang Lee film. I remember when Lee made one of the early Hulk films which while flawed is a film I liked as a kid, and still do. Ang Lee is now a famous director and unfortunately I have missed most his films because I was too young to see them. His new film, Life of Pi is a bit unlike the Hulk movie in that there is really nothing not to like here. It is a film that I believe everyone would like and one of the most interesting films of 2012.
Based on a novel, Life of Pi follows Piscine Molitor (Irfan Khan), who later changed his name to Pi (Irhan Khan) who tells a story to a writer (Rafe Spall) about his younger self and a journey that had him shipwrecked and stranded at sea with a tiger as his only friend and as his enemy.
The opening act is really the most interesting part of this film and but also contains the film's main flaws. The film tells us a interesting story about Pie's childhood that provides some laughs, but also a sad side to the characters while also adding a lot of depth to the film. The problem with the opening is all these plot elements seem to drag along the film with too many things going on, and the film is not stylized to it's time period so it is a little hard to follow. During this portion of the movie, I was wondering where this film was going.
Later on, there are some flaws including some unrealistic rafts used in the water that seems way too complicated for the circumstances. During this part of the film, there are parts where the film drags before it really ends up taking off and becomes a solid film. The latter part of the movie is entirely set in water and Lee depicts this very well.
What is really consistent and done well in this film is the acting and the use of the animals. I have never seen a film that uses a tiger so realistically while including a lot other good animals though the others were depicted in zoo scenes. In addition, the acting here is first-rate. The character of Pi is told through many actors as he ages through the story and all the various Pi characters are well played with intelligence and likability. Lee seems to easily convey some difficult parts of this story that other directors may not have handled so well.
Life of Pi also stands out due to it's style and beauty. There are many beautiful dark (night) shots and also action shots in the water that feel surreal and unlike anything I've ever seen before. Ang Lee has done an excellent job with this. Here are some examples of this beautiful imagery,
Once we reach the end, Life of Pi come across as a kind of a strange whole. It is a film that is hard to figure as a whole and I am not seeing that is really has a point or a greater meaning. That said, so much here stands out and the film is as memorable as they come.
Life of Pi is a film that some people might not like as it might be too "out there"and not their type of film, but to me this is a movie can't be not missed. It is also one that separates the good directors from truly great which Ang Lee now has become in my book.
4/5
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