Pi and Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, learn to cope with each other and the harshness of the ocean. (Image Credit: FOX)
Life of Pi is a beautifully-directed journey that questions the basis of life and human spirituality.
Early in the film, the audience is introduced to the protagonist as a boy. Viewers will quickly relate to Pi’s adorableness and youthful innocence.As Life of Pi progresses, Pi seems to find young love and stability before financial problems send him and his family abroad with a menagerie of animals from the zoo they owned in India. During the trip across the Pacific Ocean, a terrible storm sinks the ship and leaves Pi as the sole human survivor. Yet he is not completely alone — he must share the small resources offered by the lifeboat with Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger!
The stress of survival resonates in Pi’s actions and decisions while stranded at sea. Viewers will sympathize with Pi and Richard Parker, even as the basic needs for survival push them to display their basic instincts. In the lifeboat’s confined setting, emotions churn and feelings of loneliness and grief become extreme. Pi and Richard Parker are truly at the mercy of the ocean.
Yet this movie is not entirely a survival film. Director Ang Lee weaves in scenes that show the beauty of life. Due to amazing visual effects, the ocean becomes a dynamic and living entity capable of eliciting both awe and fear.
Released in November, Life of Pi is playing in theaters around the country. It has been nominated for 11 Academy Awards including “Best Picture” and “Best Direction.”
HELLO my name is Edward KIM. I'm an editor and senior from Crescenta Valley High School, and wow life is so beautiful isn't it? I own the cutest dog in the world, and I recently started growing a mango tree from the pit of a mango I ate. It's only a wee sapling now though (•‿•)
