CLIPS MOVIE REVIEWS

by Roger Tennis

On CLIPS In December, 2012

LIFE OF PI

A young man (Suraj Sharma) is thrust into an amazing adventure with a tiger after surviving a disaster at sea in the latest film from director Ang Lee.

TRIVIA: Ang Lee made his directorial debut with what 1992 movie?

ROG'S VIEWPOINT
  (4 CAMS)        RATED PG

Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma), the son of a zoo keeper in India, relates his fantastic story to a writer (Rafe Spall). Traveling across the Pacific Ocean with his family and the zoo animals toward a new life in Canada, Pi is cast adrift when the freighter is sunk during a storm. An unbelievable adventure begins as he must learn to co-exist on a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. "Life of Pi" is a wondrous and captivating cinematic journey for young and old alike. It's a visually hypnotic 3D marvel that is a must-see on the big screen and is best enjoyed without knowledge of where this miraculous voyage leads. Enhancing the story with the third dimension, director Ang Lee has taken Yann Martel's novel and turned it into a spectacular work of art. The cinematography of Claudio Miranda, with lush landscapes saturated in rich colors, pulls the audience into this magical world. But none of this would matter if the right actor hadn't been chosen for the lead. The majority of the film rests on the shoulders of the young Pi. It's amazing that Lee has drawn a magnificent performance out of newcomer Suraj Sharma, which is award-worthy to say the least. The international supporting cast, mostly from India, has few recognizable faces for American theatergoers. Irrfan Khan, as the adult Pi, recently appeared as Rajit Ratha in "The Amazing Spider-Man". French legend Gérard Depardieu is seen briefly as a rather insane cook aboard the doomed freighter. While a real tiger exists in some scenes, a CG animal is prevalent. It's difficult to distinguish between real and fake. "Life of Pi" is a life-affirming epic that deserves a large circle of fans.