Visually Excellent, Emotionally Subtle

Rating: 7/10 (24 November 2012)

Life of PI should be counted as a visual treat more than an emotional experience. Yet it should be considered as one the very good movies Hollywood has shown to the world in the past few years; where visual effects are dominating the screens.
This entire story is about Faith and Hope. PI as a child was fascinated towards God, Rather restrict himself to one religion, He understood that ways of God might be different but destination in one. He accepts every thing good in every religion. He understood the concept of Faith in Hinduism and When He was introduced to Christianity; PI does not say Hinduism is wrong, He thanked Hindu God for introducing him with Jesus. The same positive approach was maintained throughout the movie in this character. When He was left alone in the ocean with Tiger, He says to God that he surrenders himself to him. That was truth. He surrenders himself to God and whatever comes in his way he went through it and took his life and way as God is taking him forward and his action is only to pass through the stages but not complaining or loosing hope. At one moment we believe in this where PI tries to survive, God tests him more in the form of Richard Parker (Bengal Tiger), Second Storm where he looses his total food supply, Prepared to be taken away by God (Death). Then God gives hope as a floating Carnivorous Island and again making him move forward without loosing hope.
Richard Parker is a character rarely seen in movies. A silent villain character who makes the Hero survive. Imagine without Richard Parker, PI would have died in loneliness. As said in the movie, The terror of death from the Tiger kept PI alive. If Parker is another test by God, PI passed it by taming him. The relation between these two went very well through out the story when it started as predator and prey it transforms in to Master and Animal and finally hunger makes them both good friends in their own emotional levels. Though PI wanted Parker to look back and get his final greetings, Parker accepted them by stopping for a moment and leaving him alone without hunting down.
Movie is visually astounding but visual beauty dominated the story? Certainly for an extent where there was not much story happening in the Ocean. It was lagging and on slow pace. Then comes the magical Island for rescue. But an immediate climax was a disaster for the movie. The way PI concluded the story before Japanese Cargo employees is good. But due to visual domination and partial drawbacks Life of PI just missed to be a Classic but almost there but worth watching once or twice. This movie cannot leave you in a trance where you go home and spend some hours thinking about it. Once you walk out of the theater the movie is over.