1 Line Review: Fabulous, fantastic, amazing, mesmerizing, visual and emotional treat.
Rating:
Many of you would have read the book (by the same name, written by Yann Martel) already but if you haven’t, you are in for a surprise as you would have never guessed about the awesomeness you are about to experience!
An Indian family running a zoo plans to move out of India carrying all animals in a cargo ship. Amidst a storm the ship drowns luckily leaving the protagonist (PI), a Zebra, chimpanzee, tiger and a hyena in a life boat in the middle of nowhere. What happens from here, is for you to see, experience and survive the odds with PI.
Life of Pi comes alive in 3D and I would not be wrong in saying that it comes very close of ‘Avatar’, in terms of visual pleasure. The cinematography is out of this world, the right camera angles, the right view, the visual effects, the effective use of 3D from the very first shot till the end is truly worth watching! Most parts of the movie have been shot in Pondicherry and then the ocean scenes have been shot in Tiawan, in a big tank!
Irrfan Khan is the adult PI who is narrating the story, he has done a decent job. The narration, the art of story telling has been brilliantly portrayed. One of the most amazing parts of the movie are when the clear waters comes alive!
The biggest find of the movie is the hero – PI, played by a debutant Suraj Sharma, only 19 years of age. What an actor I must tell you, brilliant! [The director Ang Lee has said that he auditioned more than 3000 people before finalizing on Suraj!] The days PI spends stranded in the sea with only the tiger is both scary and emotional, the chemistry between them has be en showcased amazingly, am sure the author must have written it that well (I have not read the book, yet).
There’s a lot of humor in the movie, the best is about how he gets his name. But in-between also you would notice a lot of fun moments during his survival.
The Bengal Tiger is the 2nd most important character and I have never seen a movie with such an presence from the king of the Jungle, that too in the middle of nowhere with a boy only to look after him! Well, many a times its the CGI but you would not be able to make out the difference.
Now, the director Ang Lee, he is known to be the workaholic who wants smallest element in the movie to be 100% perfect. With what he has done in the past is a clear indication of that – ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’, ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and ‘Hulk’.
Overall, I suggest you watch it twice atleast, both in 3D. You will love it!
great review and I couldn't agree with you more. The movie is so beautiful and so moving. In some scenes you feel the loneliness of Pi so strongly it makes you sad. Very well done.