Life of Pi: A Ranted Review

The much anticipated and much awaited was at last seen. The last day of exams and I was pretty sure that this was the right way to spice it up. 1645 hours at the PVR cinemas, the ambiance has never failed me and the richness of the place makes the experience way better. Coming down to the account of the movie, all was in high spirits, as long as it started. Beginning with Irfan Khan as the aged (somewhere in his 40s) Pi, the story starts with him cooking for an author who had come over to ask him about his story. Apparently there is this character called 'Mamaji' who had sent him there. Nevertheless, the next five minutes of the movie have been wonderfully thought about. The shots of a pool and beautiful raytracing and animation will leave you in awe (of course there is more to come). A very animated story if you'd ask me. It grips you, yes, and at the same time, it never leaves you. It tries putting you in awe, but if you'd ask me, you never really get there. The rest of the movie is about how Pi, our Mr Patel travels through the seas to get to his destiny after being shipwrecked, something that all of you already know about.

So this review is not about the story but rather about the movie and the type of cinema that it has brought to us.
I would first, before I officially begin, like to congratulate Ang Lee on this leap of courage for making this movie. It is a spectacle one shouldn't miss, especially in 3D and if possible, definately in IMAX. Moving forward, it is a beautiful concept. The emotions are alive, the expressions are rich, not in their sheer communication, but in their realism, their minimalism, and their exquisite carelessness of the fact that someone behind the fourth wall is trying to interpret them. That is one of the most beautiful things about the movie. In as few words as possible, it gives you stories, feelings and a plethora of confusions at the same time.

The story in isolation, with the screenplay and the script is splendid, I give it a 4/5 for that. Or maybe even a 4.5 if only they could stop stereotyping the naive thinking of Indian kids. Not all of us are that plain and we dont deserve to have a general impression of that. Nevertheless, it is a very pleasing sight to look at. 

Coming down to the sort of cinema that we are looking at. Splendid again, beautiful, mystical. There are, sometimes, so many things going on, on the screen that you fight to take a look at every part of the frame before the shot changes. Beautiful animation, wonderful viewports. Getting a little technical, the kind of materials that they have used, the tracking algorithms and the meticulous thoughts that have been put into thinking what will go best is the most amazing thing about the animation. It comes close to the transformers on those grounds. PS: I am not stupid enough to put it next to the Avatar like some of those paid blokes in news channels have done, this is still not the movie of the decade. 

The animation in isolation for its serenity, and integrity with the scene will steal your heart. It gets a 4.5/5 for the animation.

Now comes the final showdown, and I don't know how, but this movie drastically fails at an overall rating as far as my meter goes. Here's the point now, there is beautiful story, there is beautiful animation, but somewhere the story and the animation don't marry each other. The integrity and the reason for those beautiful and splendid scenes to be there just does not make sense. An island full of meal-cats now that might have some substance from visual sides, I was awestruck when I saw it on screen, leave alone the man who saw it himself, but then, what is it supposed to mean? The general and poor minded audience like myself fails to fathom the depth of that shot. Lighted up waters and things like that are certainly beautiful and unveiling as far as the mysteries of the pacific are concerned, but when you have already sensed the richness and meaning behind all the lines said, your mid just wont take in something that has no connection to the message at all.For the immense lack of simple connection between the beauty and the story and the negligence to end the story makes me keep wanting more, makes me keep saying it shouldn't end like this! Its the times when you've done so much and then you simply scream! No! No! you morons! stop doing this to a great movie! The tiger's departure makes no sense, Pi's restructuring of the story makes no sense at all in heaven or hell. I might be way too stupid to understand, bu then, I believe I am the general audience.Once again, congratulations to Ang Lee for trying to elevate the sense of cinema of the people of the world but I can only do so much to give it an overall 6/10 for the reasons I stated above.

But yes, please please do go and watch it, it is amazing cinema :)

The Sign Painter