Marina Antunes [Celluloid 07.25.12] drama fantasy



Yann Martel's award winning "Life of Pi" had a rough time getting to print but when it was eventually published, the public ate it up. I seem to remember everyone reading or talking about this for the first few years it was in print and it still comes up in discussions of good Canadian fiction. I've never managed to make my way past the 20 page mark - something about Martel's style doesn't work for me, but his story, which merges fantasy and spirituality, certainly hit the mark with many so it's not surprising that at some point the story would be adapted to the big screen.

Award winning director Ang Lee is charged with bringing the inspirational story of Pi, a young boy who finds himself in the company of zoo animals "after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean." It sounds simple enough but reading a more thorough description of the synopsis reveals some big philosophical ideas yet nothing about this story captures my attention.


The effects heavy trailer is pretty but lacks any emotion, any "wow factor." It certainly doesn't help that my first experience with footage for the movie, a two minute scene of Pi on a boat with a Bengal tiger trying to catch fish, played just before Prometheus but after the "Feature Presentation" banner had already gone up. At a midnight screening - that did not go over well.

It remains to be seen if Life of Pi, which stars Suraj Sharma as young Pi, the great Irrfan Khan as older Pi along with Tobey Maguire and Gerard Depardieu, will have the same impact the book did but we're sure to find out when the movie opens on November 21st.

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Charles Widmore (9 months ago) Reply

Looks amazing, with the stylized effects giving it a storybook feel.

Umberto (9 months ago) Reply

Veramente fantastico! Fantasia a mille,un film sicuramente da vedere,la tigre e' bellissima!!!

MrSatyre (9 months ago) Reply

Not liking the look of this at all. Too cartoony for live-action.

j.j. (9 months ago) Reply

I'm cautiously optimistic