A visual and spiritual treat

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2012)

Yann Martel's Life of Pi, a Man Booker Prize winner is no doubt an enchanting read..I would never have imagined it coming to life on screen, but Director Ang Lee achieves the unachievable. If you thought Crouching tiger..was exceptional, Life of Pi is even more so...the story of sixteen year old Pi who survives a shipwreck and his unending adventure in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat  with a Royal Bengal tiger for companyfor 227 days before he reaches the shores of Mexico. No.the tiger is not a speaking one like the benevolent lion Aslan in Chronicles of Narniait is wild and ferocious  also a survivor in the shipwreck ..while being transported from India to the Americasso then what happenssee it in the Life of Pi  an immensely watchableactually a must watch film in recent timesof an exceptional quality as was Avatar.
What's so great about thisanother fantasy?....yes and no.Life of Pi is a story intended to make you believe in God and his marvelous plan.with layers and layers of revelationsthe script is unbeatable and together with Ang lee's vivid imagery , cinematography and sensitivity .a spiritual and visual masterpiece. Cynics would like to dismiss it as a naive quest for spiritual fulfillment, but understanding Life of Pi necessitates a certain kind of awareness and sensitivity.
The movie opens to the tunes of a soulful lullaby sung in Tamil while the camera in slow motion scans the zoo ... owned by Pi's family  the start of a vivid narration of Pi's childhood captured so lovingly bringing a magical quality to the mundane. The unpretentiousness of the cast and characters is heartening. Ang Lee's brief but unprejudiced and accurate portrayal of a foreign cultureis laudable
The amazing part of the movie though begins after the shipwreckhow Pi survives the journey, while taking care of the needs of a full grown royal Bengal tiger while needing to save himselfthe revelations that he has, his resourcefulness , courage and spirit Ang Lee's direction and Suraj Sharma's ( young Pi's) earnestness bring conviction to Yann Martel's absurdly magical story as perfectly plausible.the unbelievably real looking tiger ( named Richard Parker! ) is actually digital the oceanic scenes are unadulterated pleasure to behold. The script is designed to make you take stock of your own life, while Pi stumbles on major revelations when Pi decides not to be scared of Richard Parker, but to learn to communicate with him as he decides to train him while battling and surviving in the stormy Pacific. Particularly poignant when he utters the words.. " Oh God I give myself to you. I am your vesselWhatever comes I want to knowshow me" Ultimately beyond our skepticism and smartness, we need to have faith and let gowith that comes a new found courage and confidence that ferries us beyond the shores of uncertainty and the unknown.
Irfan Khan as the adult Pi and Tabu as the mother of young Pi are effortless actors, the young Pi played by Ayush Tandon is marked by heart tugging earnestness, and Suraj Sharma the lead Pi, chosen for his personality and "soulful eyes" ( Ang Lee in his interview) , does mesmerize you with his performance. So even without any fancy hallowed Hollywood actors, Ang Lee churns out an unexpected treat... the sort that churns you deep within. The last lament of Pi is that Richard Parker , the tiger leaves him at the shores of Mexico without a proper goodbye( maybe too much to expect of a tiger) but it is to remind us of the importance of proper goodbyes in our lives and maybe not to expect when we do not receive them.