So wifey and i decided to watch a movie last week. We were weighing between special chabbis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_26) and Life of PI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Pi_(film)) and after having watched LOP, i think it would have been been a historic mistake to miss it. Anyhow, the reason why we choose LOP was because it promised more interesting visuals and animal presence, which would keep my 5-yr-old-son occupied. Needless to say, we all loved the movie and it compelled me to write my own review about it. Given below are my thoughts:
1. The movie is not as good as the book, which was kind of expected. But i don’t think it could be made any better. When i heard that LOP is being made in a movie, my first reaction was that of disbelief because i could not imagine how someone could transform the story into a movie.
2. And looks like i was not the only one who found it difficult. Life of Pi was rejected by several hollywood directors and Ang Lee was not the preferred choice
3. Ang Lee is a genius. Period.
4. So is Yann Martel, to have thought of such a story.
5. The acting in the movie is brilliant. I heard that Ang Lee handpicked Suraj Sharma (young PI) after auditioning some 3000 people. I really wonder what criteria he had in mind when he was auditioning all those folks. Regardless, Suraj Sharma did justice to the role.
6. Irrfan Khan and Tabu (Pi’s parents) has small but strong roles in the movie and it was a smart decision from Ang Lee to cast them for the role. And i think these actors did justice to their roles.
7. The star of the movie is the tiger, Richard Parker. The way his feelings and outlook to life is shown in the movie is really touching. He also comes out as an intelligent cat.
8. The plight and fight of Pi to remain alive was very captivating to watch. The way he dealt with the tiger and untimately trained him was beautiful.
9. I liked the fact that Pi was not shown sulking for long for his lost family. Instead, he started fighting for survival as soon as he grasped the situation.
10. I did not understand Gérard Depardieu’s role as the cook. He was shown as rude and racist and also had a fight with Pi’s father (Adil Hussain). He did figure in Pi’s made up story to insurance agents and his portrayal did influence Pi’s characterization of him in the story. But i wonder if a seasoned actor like Gérard Depardieu was required for the role.
11. I really liked India’s portrayal in the movie. Indians were shown as intelligent, tolerant to religions, and thinkers in the movie. It was refreshing to find the following missing from an India based story – taj mahal, poverty, corrution and facinated-to-white-skinned folks.
12. I loved the fact that there was no stupid love story in the movie. Indians would understand what i mean.
Overall, Life of Pi comes out as must watch movie and we thoughly enjoyed watching it. It is highly recommended and i would easily give 5 stars to it.If possible, do read the book too.
Reflections... 