The journey impossible
Film: Life of Pi
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Rafe Spall
Rating: ****
Imagination is the essence of our existence and not something we can prove or touch. Our attachment with God is a one way street, like Pi’s with the tiger. Their love is unrequited. In some ways, the whole faith thing could be our projection but that’s not nothing. It is the essence of life. It is phantom but I keep pursuing it.
Director Ang Lee sums up the core of his film Life of Pi so beautifully in one of his interviews that there is hardly anything more to add in its favour. It’s a journey that has to be believed to be experienced.
Just like the screen adaptation of Yann Martel’s Booker-prize winning novel was termed as an impossible endeavour, before Lee decided to make it possible, dissecting the film comes close to being an impossible task too. With a rich philosophical texture and mesmerising visuals, Lee’s translation of the book on celluloid is so overwhelming that it leaves you awe-struck at one point and in tears at another.
You are exhausted at the end of it all, and yet so enlightened.
For all its path breaking technology and visual grandeur, the beauty of Life of Pi lies in its unbelievable story – a 16-year-old boy’s 227-day survival on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, alongside a tiger for company.
The film starts on a rather clunky note when an older Pi (Irrfan Khan) sets out to tell his amazing story to an already amazed author (Rafe Spall). A story that will make him believe in God. It’s not very convincing until we are flung right into the middle of the sea with the younger Pi (Suraj Sharma) and his fellow sailors – a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger.
Lee very well juggles the novel’s themes of fantasy, adventure and spirituality by making his adaptation an emotionally satisfying experience as much as a grand spectacle. He not only makes you believe in God but also the CGI generated tiger, who is by far the most fabulous example of the film’s thematic significance of illusion and reality.
Whether it’s the sparkling sea at night with glowing fishes, the sheer majesty of the furry beast or the simple innocence of Suraj Sharma, Lee captures every little aspect with a sense of wonder and enables the audience to peak their imagination along with his.
The cinematography (Claudio Miranda) and music (Mychael Danna) too, are in perfect harmony with Lee’s vision of creating magic. The Tamil lullaby in the beginning of the film, sung and written by Carnatic artiste Bombay Jayashri, is meditative. An Oscar is definitely on its way for this one.
Of the cast, the highlight is most certainly Sharma, to whom this film belongs. Apart from the tremendous breakthrough with 3D, Lee’s true achievement with Life of Pi is the discovery of this powerhouse of talent. Khan, on the other hand, is engaging in parts but never becomes the part. His presence brings in a sort of a disconnect from the magic, or disillusionment maybe, every time the narrative goes into the present. Tabu as Pi’s mother makes the most of the little screen time allotted to her.
With 11 Oscar nominations in its kitty, Life of Pi is all set to cast an Indian flavour once again at the world’s biggest award ceremony. Just that this time, India will be no ‘Slumdog’ but probably an achiever all the way through.
Film: Life of Pi Director: Ang Lee Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Rafe Spall Rating: **** Imagination is the essence of our existence and not something we can prove or touch. Our attachment with God is a one way street, like Pi’s with the tiger. Their love is...
Film: Life of Pi
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Rafe Spall
Rating: ****
Imagination is the essence of our existence and not something we can prove or touch. Our attachment with God is a one way street, like Pi’s with the tiger. Their love is unrequited. In some ways, the whole faith thing could be our projection but that’s not nothing. It is the essence of life. It is phantom but I keep pursuing it.
Director Ang Lee sums up the core of his film Life of Pi so beautifully in one of his interviews that there is hardly anything more to add in its favour. It’s a journey that has to be believed to be experienced.
Just like the screen adaptation of Yann Martel’s Booker-prize winning novel was termed as an impossible endeavour, before Lee decided to make it possible, dissecting the film comes close to being an impossible task too. With a rich philosophical texture and mesmerising visuals, Lee’s translation of the book on celluloid is so overwhelming that it leaves you awe-struck at one point and in tears at another.
You are exhausted at the end of it all, and yet so enlightened.
For all its path breaking technology and visual grandeur, the beauty of Life of Pi lies in its unbelievable story – a 16-year-old boy’s 227-day survival on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, alongside a tiger for company.
The film starts on a rather clunky note when an older Pi (Irrfan Khan) sets out to tell his amazing story to an already amazed author (Rafe Spall). A story that will make him believe in God. It’s not very convincing until we are flung right into the middle of the sea with the younger Pi (Suraj Sharma) and his fellow sailors – a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger.
Lee very well juggles the novel’s themes of fantasy, adventure and spirituality by making his adaptation an emotionally satisfying experience as much as a grand spectacle. He not only makes you believe in God but also the CGI generated tiger, who is by far the most fabulous example of the film’s thematic significance of illusion and reality.
Whether it’s the sparkling sea at night with glowing fishes, the sheer majesty of the furry beast or the simple innocence of Suraj Sharma, Lee captures every little aspect with a sense of wonder and enables the audience to peak their imagination along with his.
The cinematography (Claudio Miranda) and music (Mychael Danna) too, are in perfect harmony with Lee’s vision of creating magic. The Tamil lullaby in the beginning of the film, sung and written by Carnatic artiste Bombay Jayashri, is meditative. An Oscar is definitely on its way for this one.
Of the cast, the highlight is most certainly Sharma, to whom this film belongs. Apart from the tremendous breakthrough with 3D, Lee’s true achievement with Life of Pi is the discovery of this powerhouse of talent. Khan, on the other hand, is engaging in parts but never becomes the part. His presence brings in a sort of a disconnect from the magic, or disillusionment maybe, every time the narrative goes into the present. Tabu as Pi’s mother makes the most of the little screen time allotted to her.
With 11 Oscar nominations in its kitty, Life of Pi is all set to cast an Indian flavour once again at the world’s biggest award ceremony. Just that this time, India will be no ‘Slumdog’ but probably an achiever all the way through.
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