Movie Review: Life of Pi

There are few movies that really touch the soul. Life of Pi, based on the book by Yann Martel, is one of them. 

This film tells the story of a young boy who lost his family to a shipwreck while traveling towards a new life in another country. With them were animals from the zoo they used to operate in India. After the storm passed and the ship sank, Pi found himself alone at sea with a Bengal tiger, incongruously named Richard Parker, as his only companion. 

For days, Pi had to harness all his physical and inner strengths to survive everything that nature sometimes literally threw at him. I was amazed to find out that this is the first time lead actor, Suraj Sharma, is acting in a movie. He is a natural. It was not difficult to feel compassion for his pains and his joys because he can speak volumes with his eyes. He also has great comedic timing because, despite the desperate situation, he manages to make audiences laugh with nicely executed dialogues and actions.

The story is quite extraordinary and yet made believable through Ang Lee's masterful direction. Watching the movie in 3D moreover made it such a visual treat. There were so many magical scenes that would take your breath away.  This is one movie that you would want to watch over and over again for its wonderful cinematography. 

I don't want to reveal much of the story (although you can read the synopsis and a bit of background here). It's better you watch Life of Pi and judge for yourself why people have been raving about it. I can assure you though that the time you'll spend inside the cinema would be very much worth it.

Life of Pi starts showing in cinemas tomorrow, January 9, distributed by 20th Century Fox Philippines.