Friday, July 5, 2013

Movie Review: Life of Pi

Movies can be experiences unlike anything else. Film is a powerful medium that harnesses the power of a picture being worth a thousand words, and while some movies leverage that power to become simply great entertainment, sometimes a movie comes along that is a nearly formative experience. Life of Pi is just such a movie, one that instigated me to immediately purchase the book that came before the film. It is a film that I believe everyone should watch, regardless of whether or not you can fully grasp the underlying concepts.


Life of Pi is something I never had any interest in seeing really, the trailers I saw were brief and I hadn't heard anything about the movie. A friend, a man actually originally from India where the movie begins, told me that my son and I would really enjoy the movie and the accompanying adventure. I found it to rent in Redbox the other night and decided it was at least worth a dollar and some change to see if the man was correct.

At it's base the Life of Pi is a movie about a boy who calls himself Pi that has a rather extraordinary story to tell. Raised in India by parents with much wisdom, captivated by multiple religions and raised alongside a zoo that his family was responsible for. In a serious of events the young boy is lost at sea in the Pacific ocean, adrift on a lifeboat with only one companion; a fierce bengal tiger.

The movie is an utter visual tour-de-force with scenes and visions that are jaw dropping with vistas that border on the ethereal. Computer graphics really show how far they've come, with a CGI tiger that is as astoundingly real. Animals are tough to get right and the tiger is so well animated that for most of the movie you forget he is a computer construct altogether.

Genius visuals aside, Life of Pi is a movie that must be experienced to be understood and telling you anymore would be spoiling that experience for you. Suffice it to say that after the movie ends it will stick with you far after the credits. Life of Pi is a must see for all audiences and a film that has captured my heart and mind.

Score: 5 out of 5

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