Life Of Pi

Synopsis: Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) lives a comfortable childhood with his family in India at the zoo which his father owns. As the zoo becomes economically unviable and Pi reaches adolescence, the father decides to move both family and zoo to Canada in search of a better life. While far out at sea, the freighter they are on is caught in a storm, after which Pi finds himself the sole human survivor in a lifeboat, with only animals as co-passengers; a zebra, an orang-utan and a hyena. The latter engenders anxiety, but then there is the Bengal tiger, Richard Parker. 

Apparently Life of Pi has been ten years in the making. I am not surprised. This adaptation of the best-selling novel by Yann Martel is an expensive production brought to the screen – and soundtrack – via fabulously imaginative and intelligent film-making.

Making a film about a teenager in a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with just animals for company would be, no doubt, a very hard task and, perhaps more than anything else, Life Of Pi demonstrates the importance to a two-hour story of having fully-fledged characters, even if they are non-human ones.

Visually the film is sumptuous in presentation from start to end. Told in flashback by the now-adult Pi (Irrfan Khan) to a writer (Rafe Spall), we have a clear insight into the life of an Indian boy who reaches late adolescence, earns acceptance and discovers love just as his parents decide to leave their country forever.

The zoo at the start of the film is full of animals meticulously brought to life, the fine attention to detail, particularly with regards to the creatures’ movement, making you believe that these computer-generated creatures are really alive. The special effects are dazzling (it is showing in 3D, as well as 2D for those of you looking for a boost) not only in bringing the animals to life, but in other scenes, including the sinking of the freighter and a glorious night sequence with phosphorescent sea creatures.

Life Of Pi is not all about the animals, though. The questions behind the story are eternal – the search for identity, our place in the universe, the questioning of faith in both religion and oneself all add to this quest for survival. Performances are good all round, but the stars of the show are undoubtedly the special effects, in what is a truly magical experience.

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