A number of years ago, a girlfriend gave me a book, Life of Pi, for my birthday. Written by Yann Martel, it was not a book, or author, that I had ever heard of, and reading the blurb, I felt it an unlikely that I would be interested in it, let alone really enjoy it.
Instead, it captured me pretty much from the onset. I was awed by the beauty of Yann’s writing style, and enthralled by this whimsical tale, it going on to become one of my all time favourites.
When it came to a movie adaptation, I became concerned; at what scale were they going ruin this beautiful story? For me, bringing it to the screen, especially in 3D, left room for a stuff up of a major scale. So I pleasantly surprised…
Life of Pi is an incredible story about Pi (∏=3.14159…) or, Piscine Patel, the 16 year old son of a zoo keeper in Pondicherry, India, who contemplates life and spirituality from a very young age.
Classified as a fantasy adventure, Life of Pi is a movie of epically beautiful proportions. The story unfolds through the narrative of a now adult Pi, who recounts the terror of a sinking cargo ship on which both his family and zoo inhabitants are onboard, only to find himself clinging to the bowsprit of a life raft in an attempt to secure his fate from Richard Parker, a ferocious, terrified and hungry Bengal Tiger, along with a crazed hyena, wounded zebra and a somewhat maternal orang-utan.
What ensues is the battle to preserve both his own life and the life of an increasingly hungry and seasick travel companion, whilst adrift at sea. For 227 days, Pi struggles to assert boundaries between Richard Parker and himself, developing a deep affection for the very element that threatens his life the most.
Fun, exciting, at times wildly amusing, as well as incredibly touching, this visual masterpiece incites many emotions. Life of Pi is a stunning piece of cinematography, that while, making use of some spectacular ‘Hollywood bling’, it has managed to do so without losing the essence of this inspiring story. Thought provoking to a point that you will carry this movie with you for several days, wondering… and wondering some more – I don’t want to blow the ending…
If you are contemplating seeing Life of Pi, it is my wholehearted recommendation to read the book first, but if you don’t get a chance to, just sit back and enjoy this story of friendship and survival, hope, beauty and unwavering faith.
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds
