Life of Pi (2012) Movie Review

Adventure Boy and I went to watch “Life of Pi” tonight. Initially, I thought it looked like a great movie for kids and we both love tigers. My Chinese sign (the year I was born) is actually a “tiger” and some of my male friends love to say, “Easy now tiger!” when I play around in voicing my opinions about things. Whenever we go to the zoo, we always want to see the tigers first as they are such beautiful yet ferocious creatures. Anyways, so other than seeing the movie trailer, I thought it was harmless to see this movie and to escape reality for a bit. I know I needed it.

What we saw was unlike any movie I’ve seen in a very long time. First of all, the movie trailer does not do any justice of how amazing this movie is. If you like allegories, symbolism, religious thoughts and fantasy, you will absolutely love this movie hands down. This movie had a little bit of everything such as romance, survival, desperation, sadness, happiness, humor, surprise, fear and most of all, hope. There was not a dry eye in the audience when we saw it, especially at a particular scene. I wasn’t even thinking of Hurricane Sandy until a certain scene came up where “Pi” is in the midst of a horrible storm and he’s screaming at the top of his lungs to the sky and says (this is not verbatim), “You’ve taken my family, everything I’ve ever loved, I’ve lost everything, what more do you want?!!” I couldn’t help but think of the victims of Hurricane Sandy and basically thinking that’s how they must feel. When you watch the movie, you see a “story” about hope. However, at the very end, you find out there are two versions of the story in the film and the animals in the movie represent humans. The whole story was a beautiful puzzle of symbolism that once you found out which one was which, you see the bigger picture and get the “I got it! I now understand what the author was trying to tell me or show me!”. I love those aha moments.

What I was thinking as we were walking to the car and I was still mulling over who and what represented what, I began to understand that the story in itself can go so many ways and that Pi could have represented God and the tiger represented “Pi” (or the author of the book). This movie leaves you thinking about all the times you ever lost hope and just when you think you’ve lost it all, someone or something comes along and helps you survive the “storm”.

I recommend this movie to anyone who has ever felt lonely, hopeless or searching for something to live for. What I learned from this movie is to always say “thank you” for whatever comes my way. I’m always thankful to begin with, but even more so now. Even when it is things I don’t understand, there is a greater reason behind it. It’s for me to learn how to make the most of it when I have nothing. Good movie, you guys should go out and see it. Even James Cameron thought the Director Ang Lee did an amazing job in the visual and directorial department in the way he presented this film. Some of the scenes are so beautiful, it took my breath away. This is a very family friendly movie. Kids will love the story and adults will love the symbolism of it. If you liked Avatar, you’ll definitely love the computer graphics in this movie.

Here is the official website: Life of Pi Official Website

Here is a video explaining the experiences and story of the movie. Check it out!

Video #1 Credit: The Life of Pi Movie
Video #2 Credit: FilmLincdotcom

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One more thing. Someone wrote something on their search engine and my blog popped up according to what they wrote. Here is what they wrote and I’ll respond. I thought it was a good question.

“meaning of tiger going into jungle at the end in life of pi movie”

Here is my humble opinion and answer of that question. “Pi” was also the tiger in the movie. When the tiger was “saved”, it was the boy who turned his back on “God” and never “thanked” him for saving him. The tiger represented Pi and the boy represented God who wanted Pi to turn around and thank him, hence the reason at the beginning of the movie where Pi (as the adult) prays before he eats and told the writer (sitting across the table from him) why he always thanks God for everything. It gets a little confusing, I know, but all Pi wanted to do was thank the tiger for being there for him and saving his life and also wanted the tiger to thank him in return, even if it meant the tiger turning around one last time and thank Pi with his eyes, but the tiger never did and there was never sense of closure as a result. Pi learned a hard lesson in appreciating and being thankful for the lessons his parents taught him while they were alive. Pi also felt some guilt due to never saying goodbye to his parents, especially his father who taught him how to communicate with animals. The tiger went back into his element just as the boy was re-entering society with other humans; there was parallel symbolism with both characters. I’m sure there are numerous opinions of this and some better than mine, but that is just what I think on that subject. I want to see the movie again, now that I understand it better and to also read the book.