A film that re-ignites the wonderment of the universe.

Rating: 10/10 (13 January 2013)

LIFE OF PI (2012) Dir. ANG LEE
Fresh from Oscar-winning Ang Lee, veteran of the groundbreaking Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, comes a film that will make the grey of modern life melt away - and reignite that childhood fascination with the universe you thought you had lost forever.
Set, like quite a few films of 2012, against the colourful and bursting collage of India (well, at least before the boat bit) this is a road movie unlike any other in both the obvious and more magical senses. Our protagonist (unsurprisingly) is a young Indian man called PI, short for Piscine, the French for swimming pool.
During a lavish and wondrous prologue we explore the past of our boat-bound hero - the son of a Zookeeper who has sadly been forced to leave India in search of Western opportunity, PI is about to see the world of magic, colour and fascination he loves vanish from the port window of a grimy Japanese freighter. As PIs origins unfold, we examine the cross-religious makeup of India, and the similarities between religious paths are directly pointed out (as is the silliness in them condemning one-another), interwoven with the unspoken soul of the nation, the culture, and the magic that seems to radiate from the very soil itself. Pi is a curious child, filled with the confidence and love of all things that can only belong to a child, surely?
A storm claims the freighter, and Pi loses everything. His family, his future, his very world. The only thing that he seems to retain in this cataclysm is his positivity, very-Indian resourcefulness, and a charm you can't really figure out.
Reset to zero, Pi has travelling companions who share his life-raft that happened to survive the crash - an Orang-Utan, a Zebra and a mischievous Hyena. But, as we all know from the trailers - there is a stowaway who quickly makes an appearance
Our Hyena is running amok, and after murdering the rest of their jolly band he turns to Pi. He doesn't get very far before Richard Parker leaps out of the storage compartments and flattens him. Richard Parker?
Oh yeah, the Bengal Tiger.
What follows is a touching, funny and sometimes crushingly despairing tale of a young Indian man following his soul - and becoming a citizen of the planet Earth. In the frame of endless nature in every direction, from beautiful sunsets that mirror on the untouched oceans, to storms that seem to conquer all, this film is about the erosion of cynicism, and the embracing of the magic we all deny ourselves. Can a human being co-exist with a tiger? Can a human being co-exist with the Earth? If we can - would it be a happy marriage?
Ang Lee thinks so, and with the use of truly world-class special effects, including the greatest deployment of 3D I've ever known, we see a tale that has implications for the entire universe unfold. This film is for those who watch ducks, love sunrises or the smell of crisp wintry air. For those who smile at the scene of two magpies, or stop to stroke strange cats. This is a film, presented with cinematography that is more artful than functional, that tries to make you believe that you too, can fall in love with the world you were born in, all over again.
Pi's adventure is a testament to what you can see when you take time to look - so take time to go see this film.