As visually stunning as it is inspirational

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2012)

I entered the viewing of 'Life of Pi' with a lot of doubt. I thought that the film would be interesting but not particularly 'mind-blowing' so to speak. I couldn't have been more wrong The film starts with the story of how Pi got his name (he's named after a swimming pool in France, his full name being Piscine) and drew me in immediately. As the film continued and we learnt more about the character I began to emphasis with him more and understand him. His beliefs and ideas about faith and religion are particularly captivating. I find myself now thinking about different religious faiths and beliefs. When the climax of the film came around an hour in (the actually crash of the ship) the sequences that followed were awe inspiring and inspirational. Even funny at times. They show how a young boy did not lose hope, even as death drew ever closer. I was never bored at any given scene with every scene having some meaning and showing some kind of poignancy, interest, visual brilliance or lesson of humanity. I also found it to be as visually stunning as it is inspirational. For me, it is a film of a love, loss, faith and never losing hope. Something we can all relate to, even though we may not be ship wrecked with a 450-pound Bengal tiger.