Life of Pi

Life of Pi is a deceitful film in a number of ways. It tells a spiritual story about a young man who discovers God while stranded on a boat, then introduces the idea that all may not be what it seems in the final act. The novel leaves things more ambiguous but I would argue that the film is plenty ambiguous in its reveals, too. Ang Lee has crafted a visual feast of a film that travels the full gamut of human emotion while, even at the most hopeless moments never loses its feeling of hope. The lead character, Pi (Suraj Sharma), learns to put his faith, and his life, in God, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christianity, or all three all at the same time. Throughout the course of the film his faith will be challenged and he will emerge with a sense of faith and spirituality stronger than when he began this journey.

The story is told in flashback as the older Pi (Irrfan Khan) is speaking to a writer who has been told Pi’s story would make a good book. Pi agrees and begins with the story of his life growing up in a Hindu family who owns a zoo. As Pi grows up he is introduced to Christianity and then Islam and decides to follow all three as he “just wants to love God.” This abstract theism bothers his father who wants the boy to be more focused but his mother supports him in his decision to pursue his own beliefs. Due to the upcoming “The Emergency” in India the family is forced to sell the zoo and move to Canada leaving behind his whole life including a young woman he has fallen in love with. 

The family, animals in tow, board a Japanese ship and leave India for North America. A sudden storm in the middle of the night springs up and, at first Pi is excited about the rough waters and the violent rainfall. But the storm soon overwhelms the ship, sinking it and Pi finds himself stranded on a safety raft with a small amount of survival gear, a zebra with a broken leg, an orangutan, a hyena and a large bengal tiger named Richard Parker. His family, along with everyone else on the ship, are drown in the ocean. In short order the other animals are killed, too, leaving just the tiger and Pi to find a way to survive on the open water without killing each other. With food and water getting scarce Pi will have to rely on his own prowess, his non-existent fishing skills, and his Gods to survive the unthinkable. 

Ang Lee uses visual storytelling, along with some first rate 3D, to tell a deceitfully simple story of survival. This movie, to the undiscerning eye, could be looked at as a story of survival at sea but it’s about much more than that. It is an allegory about faith and our place with God. Pi learns about spirituality and religion, morality and faith. Ang Lee also quizzes his audience with questions of what is and is not truth. He poses early on that nature is wild and uncivilized, dangerous to mankind. By the end Pi will realize that nature and man are actually one. It begins with Richard Parker being presented to him as a savage beast, tearing a young lamb to shreds in front of him. Towards the end the same tiger will be rendered no more dangerous than a house cat, lying weakly with his head in Pi’s lap as the two are on the verge of giving up hope for survival. There are also many moments that seem to merge the heavens above with the waters below either depicting the marine wildlife glowing ethereally or the boat seemingly floating amongst the stars. These moments, beautiful as they are, are further enhanced by the 3D effects which add depth and layers. 

Suraj Sharma gives a stand out performance as the young man, Pi, having to command the screen for most of it by himself. This was his film debut and he carries himself like a pro. This challenging performance is even more impressive knowing that he is acting against an all CGI tiger. That tiger, Richard Parker, is so convincingly rendered that one can easily forget we’re seeing an effect. That coupled with Suraj’s acting sells this effect. It would earn the VFX company an Oscar for the absolutely convincing effect.

When Life of Pi went to the Oscars in 2013, with eleven nominations, the night was marred by a flurry of controversies. There were animal abuse allegations that resulted in the American Humane Association monitor Gina Johnson resigning from her position. More noticeably was the massive protests from VFX artists outside the Oscars ceremony itself. Rhythm & Hues, which handled the effects, and were present to accept the Oscar for effects, were in the midst of bankruptcy thanks to unfair competition with subsidized and tax exempt foreign studios. This bankruptcy and similar woes with other studios was the impetus of the protests at the Oscars. When Bill Westenhofer brought up the situation during his acceptance speech the microphone was cut off, censoring his words to the world. These real world issues mar the reputation of a film that doesn’t deserve to have these issues dictate how people remember it more than a decade later.

In the final moments between the adult Pi and the writer it is revealed that when talking about the shipwreck to the Japanese company representatives that owned the ship, Pi originally told them the same story he tells the writer. When they reject the story because it lacks credibility he tells them another story, one where the animals on board are replaced with two crewmates from the ship and his mother, a story that may or may not be the true one. It doesn’t really matter, he rationalizes, as the final result remains the same. For us, the same thing applies. Is the first story the truth or the second? It doesn’t really matter. The end result is the same and his family is dead anyway. His religious conversion and epiphany are no less valid either way the story goes. The question we, and the writer, are posed with is, “which is the better story?” The answer: “The one with the tiger.”

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Ang Lee, Gil Netter, and David Womark

Best Director: Ang Lee (won)

Best Adapted Screenplay: David Magee

Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda (won)

Best Film Editing: Tim Squyres

Best Original Score: Mychael Danna (won)

Best Original Song: Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri for Pi’s Lullaby

Best Production Design: David Gropman and Anna Pinnock

Best Sound Editing: Eugene Gearty and Phillip Stockton

Best Sound Mixing: Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin

Best Visual Effects: Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer and Donald R. Elliot (won)

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Release Date: November 21, 2012

Running Time: 127 Minutes

Rated PG

Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, and Gerard Depardieu

Directed By: Ang Lee