Life Of Pi (movie)

A lot of people believe that the "3-D revolution" that is taking place in the wake of Avatar is just a fad, a new fangled attraction that will soon lose its charm without adding anything concrete to the art of cinematic story telling. But then again, the same was also though about CGI, color and sound, and look how they turned out. While it's true that 3-D has been beaten to an inch of its life in the past few years with every Tom, Dick and Michael Bay trying to squeeze in as many exploding robots and sissy face Shea Lepoops into every frame, it doesn't mean that the technology has no potential. All it needed was a skilled helmsman to take the oar and guide it to shore.

Enter Ang Lee.

Life of Pi had always been regarded as one of those unfilmable books. It was the story of Piscine Molitar Patel, or Pi, who was migrating to Canada with his family and a bunch of animals from the zoo they used to own in Pondicherry, when a storm capsizes their ship. Pi, the sole survivor, escapes on a life boat along with an odd menagerie of animals that include a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a bengal tiger, and makes his way across the Pacific ocean whilst coming to grasp the complexities of faith, life and everything in between.

As someone who had read the book a long time back, I had never imagined that I would ever get to see it play out on the big screen, let alone in 3-D. It was just that strange and mystical a story. But then I am glad to report, that this is one of those rare movies which actually does justice to its source material. Yes, the director has taken some creative liberties, but none of them that actually detracts anything from the whole experience. And the 3-D, let's just say that it is good enough to take a dive in and go for a swim.

Life of Pi is a movie that works on so many levels. It already had an amazing story that has been adapted with a tempered hand and then superbly directed for good measure. It has great performances from both Suraj Sharma, the newcomer and the star of the movie, and the eclectic cast of actors that support his tale. It has great CGI (at least that's what I think it was) that never makes you doubt for a moment the authenticity of Pi's carnivorous shipmate. And finally, it has fantastic cinematography that if nothing else will make you want to believe in God. Honestly, there are some shots that I don't think I will be forgetting any time soon. (you'll know them when you see them)

Ang Lee has always had a penchant for capturing the intrinsically beautiful but with Life of Pi he has outdone even himself. Hardly a frame goes by where you are not bombarded with either a riot of colors or a serene simplicity that you never knew could ever exist. From film roll to film end, Life of Pi seems like a giant canvas being painted over with the most meticulous of details. If nothing else, it is a work of art. I don't know any better way to put it.

But while I was swayed by the breathtaking visuals and enjoyed the steady handed direction of a movie that in lesser hands would have been worth less than a bowl of tiger crap, I could not help but be a bit dismayed at the ending. Maybe it was because I already knew what was coming, but somehow for all the beauty and spectacle that preceded it, the end never really caught me. I felt strangely disconnected as the final scenes played out. Maybe I was still lost in the thoughts of some of the most breathtaking moments caught on film I had ever seen or maybe there are some things that better felt read. Either way it did diminish a bit of the grandeur of the experience for me.

Nevertheless, that little hiccup aside, Life of Pi has been one of the most sumptuous movie experiences of the  year and definitely the most beautiful. I have never been happier since Avatar to have watched something in 3-D and especially on a giant screen. The tiger itself was worth the prize of admission. I don't know about oscars and the like but this definitely has earned a place in my books amongst the best of the year. Right beside Hugo, The Avengers, Moonrise Kingdom and Cloud Atlas.

p.s. and as a friend of mine pointed out. This is not an Indian movie people, so don't Slumdog Millionaire it!

Cloud Atlas (The Movie)

“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime, and every kindness, we birth our future.” - Somni 451


My dear Sixsmith,

I witnessed a marvel today. A strange and beautiful movie called Cloud Atlas. At first it seemed too huge and unwieldy, ever in the danger of crumbling under its own weight. There was just so much to behold at once, and with a timeline that spanned centuries through six different stories it was almost inevitable that incoherence and confusion would somehow seep in. There is the story of friendship between Ewing and the black stowaway; the criminal mystery of Louisa Ray; the comical escapades of the elderly Mr. Cavendish; the inspiring uprising of Somni 431 - an android in a futuristic Seoul; a post-apocalyptic tale of a man searching for courage; and then there is our story Sixsmith, of love and loss, and inspiration that will forever define the future.

The movie constantly teetered on the edge of turning into a colossal mess, and to many people in the audience I realize that is just how it might have seemed judging by the vocal complaints flying during the show. It was at times incomprehensible, and to add to that many of the actors were cast in different roles in different stories. While Tom Hanks might be an innocuous doctor aiding with an investigation in one story, he would return as an Irish writer or a tribal goatherd in another. This just further added to the confusion. If you are not paying attention, it is easy to get lost in who is what and where.

But as it went on, as it wove six distinct and seemingly unconnected tales together, I began to fall in love with its imperfections and blemishes. Sure it was not perfect. Far from it. But, there are works of art, Sixsmith, and then there are labors of love, and Cloud Atlas is the latter. And like all true love it is not perfect - for all it struggles, it endures. Nobody can deny the heart that went into making this movie. Most such movies suffer because not enough though is put in though has been put into them. No one can say the same about Cloud Atlas. If anything, Cloud Atlas has too much thought out into, and with three directors all putting their all into it, you can almost literally see each of the separate stories battling it out on screen to be the better one. Each vignette seems like a hand-crafted story of different genres that will rarely be coupled together let alone be packed all six in one. A guarantee, that you have never seen anything quite like this before.

There is so much to say about this movie that I would never know where to begin. It is a movie with so much going on at once that it is sure to polarize audiences for decades to come. Like the rare few before it like Blade Runner, which have broken free of pre-existing moulds, there will be no person who comes out of the hall and say "it was ok". You will either love it or hate it. And like Blade Runner I might never fully understand grasp all the high ideals and concept that the movie concealed, but I do know this that yesterday, I believe I would never have done what I did today. I feel like something important has happened to me. Is this possible?

Watch Cloud Atlas.

Love,

Robert Frobisher