Life of Pi (2012) - A young man is shipwrecked in the Pacific and has to find a way to survive on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. The story is told in flashback by the adult Pi to an interested writer.
This is one of those movies that I really wish I could have seen on the big screen. The visuals on this one are just stunning. When the backdrop for your action is the sky and ocean in the mid Pacific the grandeur is pretty epic. The CGI tiger is actually pretty amazing as well. Director Ang Lee makes the most of the visuals he's given. The bulk of the move falls onto the shoulders of Suraj Sharma who does most of his acting with a computer generated co-worker.
The obvious parallel here is Tom Hanks's 2000 film "Castaway". It is the story of a solitary man trying to survive. The major difference is that Wilson wasn't to kill and eat Hanks's character. This is a much more mystical story than "Castaway". With that fantastical element included Lee can take us to wonderful and surprising places.
I wasn't anticipating the very strong spiritual aspect of the story. Pi's journey through life is in search of his personal relationship with the Divine. He experiences the Hinduism of his native land along with Christianity, Islam and the rational atheism of his father. The story never becomes preachy but it gives the story telling another, mystical avenue for the story of Pi.
An amazing fantasy tail and visually stunning.
Rating- **** Recommended
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