Life of Pi is an amazing experience

One might think that a boy and a tiger stranded in a boat at sea would result in a gruesome ending for the one without fangs. After all, how could such a fierce animal ever be trained to truly experience feelings of love and compassion, let alone create a bond of friendship with man?

This idea is put to the test when a boy’s spiritual quest for truth and the meaning of life takes hold when he embarks on a journey with unlikely company. As he encounters many hardships, he forms a deep connection with his new companion, not only giving him a reason to survive, but ultimately restoring his religious faith.

The movie Life of Pi, based on the award-winning novel by Yann Martel, opens with an author interviewing adult Pi Patel about his remarkable life experience, aspiring to write Pi’s story which he heard would make him believe in God.

As Pi tells his story, the movie flashes back to his childhood in Pondicherry, India where his family owned and managed a zoo. Named after the French word for swimming pool, Piscine explains to the author how he received his nickname Pi after being relentlessly humiliated by his school peers for his real name, which often sounded like “pissing.” During his childhood, Pi explored various religions in addition to Hinduism, such as Christianity and Islam, expanding his interpretation of an existing divine entity.

Disagreement with India’s leading political action prompts Pi’s father to move his family and the zoo across the globe to Toronto, Canada. On their journey, however, the boat sinks during a tremendous storm, and Pi is the only survivor of the shipwreck. He is left stranded in a lifeboat with three zoo animals: an injured zebra, a orangutan, and a hyena, which soon kills the other two. Pi then discovers Richard Parker, the zoo’s 400 pound Bengal Tiger, hiding under the tarpaulin.  Richard Parker immediately kills the other animals, leaving only he and Pi in the company of one another.
As Pi struggles to coexist with the forbidding Richard Parker, he uses his knowledge about animals in order to keep them both alive. Though Pi considers him as his worst enemy and greatest threat, Richard Parker also becomes his closest friend.
Life of Pi not only illustrates a remarkable and inspiring tale, but it uses realistic images and brilliantly vivid colors that create a breathtaking and aesthetically pleasing visual experience for all. The film’s lifelike qualities contribute to its ability to trigger emotion, for it makes an improbable situation credible with its stunning graphics and stirring soundtrack.
With its thought-provoking ideas about faith and the meaning of life, Life of Pi is certainly a movie you’ll take with you out of the theater.