 ***PLEASE NOTE: A Blu-ray 3D disc is only compatible with 3D Blu-ray players.*** Tagline: Won 4 Oscars and nominated for 7 more. Embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this visual masterpiece from Oscar winner Ang Lee, based on the best-selling novel. After a cataclysmic shipwreck, young Pi Patel finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with the only other survivor - a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Bound by the need to survive, the two are cast on an epic journey that must be seen to be believed. Storyline: Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zoo keeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival. Written by Anonymous Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Casey Broadwater on March 8, 2013 -- Life of Pi wants to make you a believer. In what, though—faith or reason, hope or hard truths—is up for interpretation. Reflecting back on the events that made him who he is, the film's middle-aged narrator (Irrfan Khan) does give a kind of feel-good proof for the existence of the divine, but he also offers us some cold, painful, materialistic facts, and asks us to chose between the two. Life of Pi, then, is essentially about how we opt to see the world, and the story is itself a sort of litmus test. The 2001 novel by Jann Martel on which it's based has been variously interpreted as a spirituality-affirming fable, a slyly atheistic screed, and a loosey-goosey declaration that it's fine to believe whatever you like so long as it gives you comfort. Thematically, the movie is just as inscrutable and potentially divisive, and it's likely to inspire much satisfying post-viewing discussion. While it may not significantly shift your worldview—it's more likely to reinforce what you already hold true—Life of Pi will make you a believer in the power of CGI and 3D in the hands of a real cinematic visionary. Director Ang Lee proves here that mind-melting visual effects don't have to be relegated to blockbuster action movies, and can be incorporated into a more nuanced and artful story. For years, the novel was proclaimed "unfilmable," but at last month's Academy Awards, the film adaptation netted Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography, along with Best Director and Best Original Score. See it for the spectacle, and stay for the philosophical debate. The film is set up as a Rime of the Ancient Mariner-style frame tale, with the narrator relaying the harrowing adventure of his youth to a curious and skeptical writer (Rafe Spall) who was promised "a story that will make me believe in God." It all starts in India's Pondicherry district, where young Piscine Molitor Patel—named after a particularly beautiful Parisian swimming pool—grows up at his father's zoo, surrounded by animals. Since "Piscine" sounds a lot like "pissing," he goes by Pi, and the mathematical term—an irrational, transcendental number that never settles into a repeating pattern—suits the boy's personality. Pi becomes obsessed with finding God in all of the world's major religions, trying on Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, and taking elements from these and more to form his own spiritual-but-not-quite-religious philosophy. His father (Adil Hussein), however, is a strict rationalist who says that "all religion is darkness" and urges his son to pursue reason before faith. Already, we're seeing the film's themes come into sharp relief. When Pi is sixteen—and now played by off-the-street casting find Suraj Sharma—his father decides to sell the zoo and move the family to Winnipeg in search of a better life. They board a Japanese cargo ship bound for Canada, with the animals caged up in the hold, but a storm four days off the coast of Manila sinks the vessel and leaves Pi—the sole human survivor—stranded aboard a 30-man lifeboat with an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra, and a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Survival of the fittest means the first three animals don't last very long, and Pi is forced to drift on a makeshift raft tethered at a distance to the lifeboat, which Richard Parker has claimed as his own. And yet, even through it threatens his own life, Pi comes to care for the tiger, catching fish for it and fetching it rain water. He sees in Richard Parker's eyes something beyond mere animal instinct. But is he only seeing a reflection of his own humanity? This is just one of the many ontological questions the film poses as Pi is put at odds with nature, his conception of God, and himself. At its most basic, Life of Pi is a survival story in the Jack London mold. We get a sense for the tedium of the open sea, the danger of an unexpected gale, the hope of an island with fruit and fresh water and meerkats for Richard Parker to munch. On top of this, there's the unexpected affinity between man and beast, and the film does a phenomenal job at making Richard Parker—who gets seasick and grows thin—into a grounded, sympathetic character, utilizing both actual tigers and the CGI wizardry of now-bankrupt effects studio Rhythm and Hues. (Good luck trying to tell the real and the entirely digital apart.) On a higher level, though, Life of Pi operates as an allegorical, Job-like struggle that can be construed in a number of different ways, depending on the biases of the viewer. There's certainly a question of whether or not the narrator is reliable—he eventually gives us two versions of the events—but the film even questions the very importance of a reliable narrator, making the claim that a "good story" is perhaps better than the dreary facts. Is it better to be inspired and soothed with embellishments than to face a hard-to-accept truth? Is this the way religion operates? Does it ultimately matter? With questions like these, it's no wonder Life of Pi was a book club favorite, and the film may serve a similar function. Not that you have to look that deeply into it. Even at its most superficial—as an eye-candy adventure movie—Life of Pi is frequently awe-inspiring. Phosphorescent plankton light up the ocean. Pi's delirium leads to a trippy underwater hallucination. There are encounters with dolphins and flying fish and a floating oasis that may be some sort of large-scale venus fly-trap. Fans of the novel probably couldn't've asked for a better adaptation, filmmaking-wise, from Ang Lee's poetic direction to the stunning visual effects and the fierce performance from newcomer Saraj Sharma, a non-actor who was found in an India-wide casting call. But like the novel, the film is most interesting as a Rorschach test for personal convictions. For some, it'll be an inspirational testament to sheer belief. For others, a wishy-washy, new age-y ode to the power of positive thinking. Still more might see a subversive plug for reason over blind-faith. Life of Pi welcomes all, so watch it with friends and suss it out over coffee or a drink or two. After scoring four Academy Awards last month, Life of Pi is sure to attract lots of attention on home video, and it deserves it. While it may not be the life-changing experience it wants to be, it is at least thought-provoking and sure to generate some post-viewing discussion, particularly if you watch it with others of differing worldviews. Besides that, it's simply gorgeous to behold and probably the best adaptation we could've asked for from a book previously considered "unfilmable." 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release does justice to the film's eye-candy visuals—particularly if you go for the 3D version—and the disc includes a wealth of special features, including a terrific hour-long making-of documentary. Highly recommended! [CSW] -3.6-. Cast Notes: Suraj Sharma (Pi Patel), Irrfan Khan (Adult Pi Patel), Ayush Tandon (Pi Patel [11 / 12 Years]), Gautam Belur (Pi Patel [5 Years]), Adil Hussain (Santosh Patel), Tabu (Gita Patel), Ayan Khan (Ravi Patel [7 Years]), Mohd Abbas Khaleeli (Ravi Patel [13 / 14 Years]), Vibish Sivakumar (Ravi Patel [18 / 19 Years]), Rafe Spall (Writer), Gérard Depardieu (Cook), James Saito (Older Insurance Investigator), Jun Naito (Younger Insurance Investigator), Andrea Di Stefano (Priest), Shravanthi Sainath (Anandi). IMDb Rating (09/09/16): 6.6/10 from 78,972 users
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