Imagination is subject to knowledge

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2012)

*Minor Spoilers*
Advertised and rumored as the most spectacularly visually stunning & galling film till date, Ang Lee's film set right in the center of Pacific is a technically avant-grade production. Some of the visuals enraptured me so badly. And no doubt the film's towering accomplishments have been praised by none other than James Cameron.
Technical excellence if flaunted throughout, but that's just not it; It's more. In the underbelly of the film lies an emotionally captivating story that is felt and experienced rather than viewed. The sense of being left alone in the world, with a boat and only a boat at stake, among wild animals that fight and outlive each other, these feelings come alive on the screen. One cannot stop feeling as stuck in the middle of nowhere as the protagonist does. We make the happenings our own.
The impact is only exalted by the engaging cinematography and the very diverse background score. Mychael Danna was introduced to India on a wide scale with the Golden Lion winning "Monsoon Wedding" and has hence reaffirmed himself with the brilliant "Water", a score that make perfect use of western and Indian instruments. It is hard to believe it was composed by someone who lived outside India all through. "Life of Pi" is equally superb with the flute interludes standing out.
Ang Lee's direction needs no introduction and praise. It is glorious, marvelous, matchlessput any synonym or even a hyponym in its place and it fits sound. Although he might not be as lucky as he was during Brokeback Mountain to win the Oscar. I love the way he doesn't compromise with the scenes and their treatment; He squeezes everything out of them on screen. The scenes are endless at times that one wonders why he pays such critical attention to every detail. It is overwhelming. Is the film self-indulgent? Yes I would say but in a good sense.
Yann Martel's story is exquisite (though I haven't read the novel which I am keen to read soon) but it is the screenplay that is haphazard at places. It must have been problems with adapting a book. Lee can of course not always get a screenplay as good as the one by Emma Thompson for "Sense and Sensibility". But that doesn't hamper the experience much as the other wonderful aspects make up for it and it could be by far the best adaptation of a highly visionary and whimsical novel.
Tabu has a strong screen presence and given the small role, yet she makes a long lasting impression. In her second international project after "The Namesake", Tabu makes the best out of the limited opportunity she gets. Adil Hussain is competent aside a dominating actor. Irfan Khan as the narrator & the older Pi is also refreshing. Suraj Sharma is an inexperienced actor but that never shows. Lee has made a perfect casting decision and the last scene in the hospital proves exactly why. Suraj Sharma looks at the camera that never cuts telling his "story" and we mostly experience the scene through his eyes that he expresses most of the story through.
I also loved the way India was depicted in the film. Pondicherry was an intelligent choice in the first place. It gets rid of clichés and instead shows some of the beautiful things of India. Two particular scenes I enjoyed the most were the dance scene where the teacher sings the classical dance notes and the second where Tabu narrates the story of Yashoda seeing the universe in Krishna's mouth in Tamil.
Life of Pi questions ideologies towards the end. It talks of reality that is difficult to assimilate, imagination that doesn't go beyond knowledge, a story that is seemingly imaginary yet claimed real. It tries to convince a character about the existence of God, structures a character as God-like and affirms faith and hope as the driving forces of human existence. The story has dark, ambiguous tones towards the end with which it questions what was 'right' and what was 'real'. It uses imagination as an escape medium for the protagonist.
Despite all this, the treatment and the film as a whole is light, gives a typical happy end to the protagonist, hilarious at times, triumphs in the end unlike Lee's two previous films "Brokeback Mountain" and "Lust, Caution". Now that's what Lee's known for – directing films of diverse range and genre.