What the film says about religion will offend some viewers while enlightening others.

Rating: 9/10 (27 November 2012)

'LIFE OF PI': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Director Ang Lee's adaptation of the popular 2001 book (of the same name) by Yann Martel about a boy who survives a shipwreck only to be trapped on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a deadly Bengal tiger. The screenplay was written by David Magee (who also wrote the script adaptation for the 2004 film 'FINDING NEVERLAND') and stars Suraj Sharma and Irrfan Khan in the title role (at two different stages of his life). The film is presented in 3D and packed with visual effects (for the telling of what was said to be an 'unfilmable' book). I found the film to be visually stunning but slow in places. It does build to a satisfactory conclusion though, about spirituality and how we all view the world.
The film tells the story of Pi Patel (played by Sharma at age 17 and Khan when he's an adult in his 50s), who was named 'Piscine Molitor' by his parents (after a swimming pool in France). He changed his name to Pi in secondary school after growing tired of constantly being mocked for his name by fellow classmates. He was raised Hindu but also takes up Catholicism and Islam at age 12. His family owns a zoo but decides to sell the animals and move to Canada due to political problems arising in India. A storm causes the ship to sink and Pi is the only one who makes it on to a lifeboat, except for four other animals (a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a orangutan and a Bengal tiger). The hyena quickly feeds on the other animals before being killed by the tiger. Pi must then find a way to live on the boat with the deadly tiger (without being eaten by it). He tells this story to a reporter (Rafe Spall) when he's married with children and in his 50's.
Of course Pi's religious teachings come in to play while struggling to survive on the ocean. That's what the film is really about and it plays a part in a twist ending as well. What the film says about religion (in the end) might offend some viewers while enlightening others. I liked the overall message of the film. It's definitely a little slow at times due to the fact it primarily takes place on the ocean with one human castaway and a tiger. In that way the film is a little like Robert Zemeckis's 2000 film 'CAST AWAY' as well. Visually it's stunning and probably worth the price to see it in 3D (unless you just don't care for 3D). Not my favorite Ang Lee film but it's definitely a decent fantasy adventure.
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