LIFE OF PI directed by Ang Lee (USA, 2012)
Hitting a financial crisis, a family from Pondicherry in India decide to cut their losses and move to Canada taking their zoo with them so that they can sell the animals to help support themselves. During the ship journey they encounter a violent storm and all die expect for a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, Pi and a Bengal tiger. Eventually this lifeboat load is reduced to just Pi and the tiger.
It’s an eccentric story that a couple of decades ago could only have been brought to the big screen in a cartoon format. Now, technology has developed to the point that director Ang Lee has been able to call upon the expertise of Rhythm and Hues Studios in California to conjure up remarkably lifelike images of wild animals, flying fish and the changing moods of the ocean.
This studio has previously worked on films like Cat & Dogs and Narnia but nothing from their previous works reaches such artistic heights. Ang Lee adds the poetry and panache to the template. With a CV that includes Hulk and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he’s no stranger to studio trickery although the challenges here are on an unprecedented scale.
The effects are quite extraordinary and bring the tiger named Richard Parker to life. The shipwreck scene is also a breathtaking piece of pure cinema. Continue reading
