2012 BP Contender Series: Life of Pi

[with_one_voice]

Rate & Discuss

[Jonathan]

A strong 8. This is probably the use of Digital 3D I've seen, and the most beautiful to boot. And Richard Parker is another milestone in giving an all-CGI creation so much humanity. That said, it hasn't really stuck with me emotionally despite being such a great time at the movies.

I also liked seeing a big-budget movie deal so directly with religion and spirituality in an open way. I kinda wish we saw more movies like that.

[Elliott?]

A strong 9. Maybe a 10 after I watch it more? Omg. I just adore it. One of my favorite books, one of my favorite directors, and one of my favorite movies this year. For a lot of the film, I had tears in my eyes and often I wasn't entirely sure why. Just a wonderful experience.

[Aurelius]

A well-rounded 3. Worst film of the nominees. Nice CGI and all, but overlong and way too self-important.

[dyedred19]

6, I guess. Loved parts of it, but I kind of just wanted it to be over.

[makemeameteor]

8 is probably closer to my actual thoughts on the filmmaking, but of the few films I saw this year, this is one that really stuck with me and kept me thinking about it.

[DirkDiggler]

9!!

[McTeague]

6.

Nice concept and moments of wonder, but a very weak screenplay IMO.

[Vincent Blanchett]

9. One of the best films of the year.

[MrJeffery]

A 7. Pretty-to-look at moments but the frame story did not work at all.

[Aaron Leggo]

Another 5! A strong 5, perhaps. The ship sinking sequence is great and some of the imagery is relatively pretty, but the modern storytelling scenes are atrocious (Rafe Spall… holy shit is he awful) and the actual time on the boat feels rushed and lacks any epic scope to balance the intimacy of the protagonist’s experience. Lee’s direction is surprisingly lacking in poetry, something he’s achieved several times before and is clearly striving for again.

I made the point many times back when it opened and it still stands for me: the randomly beautiful things that happen on the open ocean distract from the core drama by making it all feel like some water wonderland instead of a hellish journey. And while I’m not one to call for a direct adaptation of any book, it is a bit odd that the movie fails to capture the important sense of Pi’s relationship with God. Shooting a bunch of CGI-assisted images of the isolated raft from birds-eye-view angles really misses the point for me.

But the animals are great.

[HoneyDarling]

9.5. But rounding up to 10. I wasn't expecting that when I went in. My favorite film of the BP line-up.

[makemeameteor]

I made the point many times back when it opened and it still stands for me: the randomly beautiful things that happen on the open ocean distract from the core drama by making it all feel like some water wonderland instead of a hellish journey. And while I’m not one to call for a direct adaptation of any book, it is a bit odd that the movie fails to capture the important sense of Pi’s relationship with God. Shooting a bunch of CGI-assisted images of the isolated raft from birds-eye-view angles really misses the point for me.

Well, I would say that the raft portion isn't supposed to be viewed as a hellish journey -- the second is version supposed to be the hellish journey. The reason the lifeboat sequences work for me is because it's a way to aid the argument between the two versions of what happened after the ship sank. As you're watching, this feels so real and wonderful, that it simply has to be true, making the reveal of a second version that much jarring, and the events that much more hard to process. And the point in the end isn't figuring out which version of the event actually happened, it's the acceptance that it really doesn't matter.

[Atonenent.]

My least favorite BP nominee. Very well-made, visually stunning, but it didn't stick with me at all, which is weird because I loved the book and I love Lee. 7.

[Aaron Leggo]

Well, I would say that the raft portion isn't supposed to be viewed as a hellish journey -- the second is version supposed to be the hellish journey. The reason the lifeboat sequences work for me is because it's a way to aid the argument between the two versions of what happened after the ship sank. As you're watching, this feels so real and wonderful, that it simply has to be true, making the reveal of a second version that much jarring, and the events that much more hard to process. And the point in the end isn't figuring out which version of the event actually happened, it's the acceptance that it really doesn't matter.

Interesting points, meteor! For me, it ultimately comes down to not being moved. At all. And clearly Lee wants to strike an emotional chord. So because I wasn't moved, I couldn't justify the decision to turn Pi's onscreen ocean experience into this vision of colourful wonders. In the book, the first version of the raft journey is still pretty damn hellish and it features some convincingly harrowing details about Pi's transformation and the physical and psychological toll it takes on him. I think the movie does a great job with the early moments on the lifeboat that involve the animals, but once we're down to just Richard Parker, it just lost me. Not because of Richard Parker, of course, who is awesome in both book and movie, but because I stopped feeling Pi's devastation, which plays a key role in the story's commentary on faith.

The movie obviously goes in a different direction, deciding to visualize Pi's relationship with God by having all these omniscient POV shots and images of Pi witnessing wondrous beauties on the ocean. But I think it would have been more powerful had Lee stuck to the book and anchored the camera on the lifeboat and tapped into Pi's love of God by showing that even in the most horrifically hopeless situations, Pi still doesn't give up because his faith gives him hope.

Now I've gone off and pulled the book entirely into the discussion, but I don't mean to say the movie has to be a strict adaptation or that it has to be my version. I just think it's important that the first version of Pi's story on the lifeboat remains a harrowing one, only with animals instead of people. He's still emaciated at the end of his journey in the movie, so it's clear that he's had a rough time, but I just barely ever felt that during the actual journey.

I appreciate your opinion here, though, because it does support the movie's approach in a way that I at least think makes sense. I don't agree with it, but there's clearly a strong argument that can be made for the other side. One thing I really liked in the movie was when Pi tells the second version of his story and it's just him in the hospital bed telling his tale. There are no flashbacks at that point, which suggests to me that the first version is the real one, because he has no actual memories of the second version. It's a nice touch that leaves things intriguingly open and the one thing, in my opinion, that is handled better in the movie than in the book.

[erikdean]

A solid 7. The surprisingly strong personification of Richard Parker was the most remarkable element.

[OscarsFan 2.3]

8.

Some truly stunning shots, the CGI and score were spectacular and well written and performed, but there was something about the cinematography in general that felt cheap and took me out of the experience.

[Sliced Peach]

8. I loved everything about it except for some over-explanation at the end.

[Aurelius]

I feel so alone in my hatred!

[Anthony_X]

9. Loved the production design and the CGI.