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Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" is a miraculous achievement of storytelling and a landmark of visual mastery. Inspired by a worldwide best-seller that many readers must have assumed was unfilmable, it is a triumph over its difficulties. It is also a moving spiritual achievement, a movie whose title could have been shortened to "life."

The story involves the 227 days that its teenage hero spends drifting across the Pacific in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. They find themselves in the same boat after an amusing and colorful prologue, which in itself could have been enlarged into an exciting family film. Then it expands into a parable of survival, acceptance and adaptation. I imagine even Yann Martel , the novel's French-Canadian author, must be delighted to see how the usual kind of Hollywood manhandling has been sidestepped by Lee's poetic idealism.

The story begins in a small family zoo in Pondichery, India, where the boy christened Piscine is raised. Piscine translates from French to English as "swimming pool," but in an India where many more speak English than French, his playmates of course nickname him "pee." Determined to put an end to this, he adopts the name " Pi ," demonstrating an uncanny ability to write down that mathematical constant that begins with 3.14 and never ends. If Pi is a limitless number, that is the perfect name for a boy who seems to accept no limitations.

The zoo goes broke, and Pi's father puts his family and a few valuable animals on a ship bound for Canada. In a bruising series of falls, a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and the lion tumble into the boat with the boy, and are swept away by high seas. His family is never seen again, and the last we see of the ship is its lights disappearing into the deep — a haunting shot that reminds me of the sinking train in Bill Forsyth's " Housekeeping " (1987).

This is a hazardous situation for the boy ( Suraj Sharma ), because the film steadfastly refuses to sentimentalize the tiger (fancifully named "Richard Parker"). A crucial early scene at the zoo shows that wild animals are indeed wild and indeed animals, and it serves as a caution for children in the audience, who must not make the mistake of thinking this is a Disney tiger.

The heart of the film focuses on the sea journey, during which the human demonstrates that he can think with great ingenuity and the tiger shows that it can learn. I won't spoil for you how those things happen. The possibilities are surprising.

What astonishes me is how much I love the use of 3-D in "Life of Pi." I've never seen the medium better employed, not even in " Avatar ," and although I continue to have doubts about it in general, Lee never uses it for surprises or sensations, but only to deepen the film's sense of places and events.

Let me try to describe one point of view. The camera is placed in the sea, looking up at the lifeboat and beyond it. The surface of the sea is like the enchanted membrane upon which it floats. There is nothing in particular to define it; it is just … there. This is not a shot of a boat floating in the ocean. It is a shot of ocean, boat and sky as one glorious place.

Still trying not to spoil: Pi and the tiger Richard Parker share the same possible places in and near the boat. Although this point is not specifically made, Pi's ability to expand the use of space in the boat and nearby helps reinforce the tiger's respect for him. The tiger is accustomed to believing it can rule all space near him, and the human requires the animal to rethink that assumption.

Most of the footage of the tiger is of course CGI, although I learn that four real tigers are seen in some shots. The young actor Suraj Sharma contributes a remarkable performance, shot largely in sequence as his skin color deepens, his weight falls and deepness and wisdom grow in his eyes.

The writer W.G. Sebold once wrote, "Men and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension." This is the case here, but during the course of 227 days, they come to a form of recognition. The tiger, in particular, becomes aware that he sees the boy not merely as victim or prey, or even as master, but as another being.

The movie quietly combines various religious traditions to enfold its story in the wonder of life. How remarkable that these two mammals, and the fish beneath them and birds above them, are all here. And when they come to a floating island populated by countless meerkats, what an incredible sequence Lee creates there.

The island raises another question: Is it real? Is this whole story real? I refuse to ask that question. "Life of Pi" is all real, second by second and minute by minute, and what it finally amounts to is left for every viewer to decide. I have decided it is one of the best films of the year.

Read and make comments here .

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Life of Pi (2012)

Rated PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril

127 minutes

Tabu as Gita

Suraj Sharma as Pi

Rafe Spall as Writer

Gerard Depardieu as Cook

Based on the novel by

• Yann Martel

Directed by

• David Magee

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Review: ‘Life Of Pi’ Is An Inspiring & Visually Stunning Tale Of Faith, Hope & Self-Discovery

Rodrigo perez.

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Taiwanese-born American film director Ang Lee ’s career is difficult to pin down. He’s constructed nuanced and well-crafted dramas of various milieus and textures (from “ The Ice Storm ,” and “ Sense and Sensibility ” to the more erotic “ Lust/Caution ” and “ Brokeback Mountain ”) and orchestrated films of more action-oriented visual pizzazz and flair as well (“ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ,” “ Hulk “). Perhaps bridging all of his eclectic interests, Lee configures a lovely and winning formula for the dazzling and emotionally rich “ Life Of Pi .”

On par with the 3D prowess of James Cameron ‘s “ Avatar ” and Martin Scorsese ‘s “ Hugo ,” Lee utilizes stereoscopic technology to imbue the picture with the same sense of visual awe and wonder. In short, “Life Of Pi” is a visual marvel and an extraordinary technological achievement. But perhaps what makes the picture better than both the aforementioned 3D touchstone pictures is that character, soul and emotion are paramount in its mind over visual pyrotechnics. In fact, one could argue that, outside of a few stunning visual sequences, “Life of Pi” is not very reliant on 3D to tell its story, and that’s probably why the technology enhances the story, rather than elevates it.

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Told in a rather conventional flashback conceit from an older man’s point of view — Irrfan Khan  relating his unbelievable and harrowing tale of survival to an unnamed author played by Rafe Spall — Ang Lee’s adaptation of Yann Martel’s beloved novel is dynamic and enthralling with a moving and life-affirming tone that is genuinely earned and largely escapes most traps of cloying sentimentality (don’t worry, songs by Coldplay and Sigur Ros are relegated to the trailer only).

Deeply patient, the central narrative of “Life of Pi” — focusing on a sixteen-year-old Indian boy shipwrecked at sea in a life raft with minimal rations and an adult Bengal tiger — doesn’t begin until 40 minutes into the picture, and while it’s somewhat slow going until then, the film’s composure pays off. Lee makes a wise decision to spend time with his set up. The fable-like tale begins and concludes in bookended fashion, with an author (Spall) struggling from writer’s block, tracking down an older Pi (Khan) on the advice of a mutual acquaintance, who shared that the elder Indian man has an unbelievable story to tell. Wise and mature with a serene demeanor, Pi invites the author into his home and tells him his life story: how a young boy named Piscine (after a French swimming pool — Piscine Molitor Patel), became Pi and grew up in Pondicherry, India (akin to the French Riviera of the country) in the 1970s.

Pi’s family owns a zoo and animals are a part of their daily lives. The inquisitive boy explores various faiths (Christianity, Hinduism and Islam) in trying to understand the world, while his secular and more orderly father tells him to listen to rational thought as a true guide through life. Curious and searching to a fault, Pi learns one of his most important lessons when he attempts to feed the family zoo’s Bengal tiger (named Richard Parker because of a clerical error). Aghast, his father scolds Pi, lecturing him that the creature is an animal with no soul. “He is not your friend!” he admonishes while he forces the boy to watch what happens when the family goat is put near his cage.

Months later when financial woes trouble the region, Pi’s father ( Adil Hussain ) decides to pack up and move to Canada; taking the zoo’s animals with him on ocean liner with the family, knowing he can sell them in North America. This section is told in a gentile fashion which is deliberately paced (read: kinda slow), but soon the picture picks up steam and actually begins.

Tragedy strikes when a disastrous sea storm of cataclysmic proportions rocks the Pacific, and after a dazzling and valiant fight, sinks the gigantic tanker to the bottom of the ocean. Visually, this sequence is breathtaking, on par with James Cameron’s “Titanic,” and arguably more terrifying due to the violence of the tempest that attacks the seas and boat. All that survives in a huge lifeboat is teenage Pi ( Suraj Sharma ), a Zebra, a hyena, eventually the ferocious Bengal tiger Richard Parker, and a gentle orangutan. One by one they pick each other off until all that’s left standing is Pi and what becomes a fierce adversary, Richard Parker, that he has to avoid, dodge and battle on a daily basis along with the elements, starvation, and these impossible circumstances.

A fully-realized creation, it’s rather astonishing how realistic and life-like Richard Parker is. He’s a living, breathing element of the story who eventually becomes the emotional crux of the tale once the animal and Pi come to an type of understanding and even, a strange friendship and connection, however tenuous because of the animals feralness. Played by newcomer Suraj Sharma, Pi doesn’t seem particularly special at first, but when the character is put through the paces, the thesp pulls from emotional reserves that are crucial to the story; more impressive when one realizes he is generally acting alongside nothing.

While perhaps not quite a s lam dunk  Oscar contender (as many pundits are clearly wondering), it’s pretty close, and there’s still lots to love and admire from “Life of Pi.” The film is not without its problems, as superficial as they ultimately may be. One would be remiss if they didn’t not address how the told-in-flashback narrative threatens to undermine the entire picture and at first this device is rather groan-worthy. But ultimately, it’s not a dealbreaker. As ‘Pi’ progresses, the conceit fades into the background and a crucial emotional moment takes place in the picture’s conclusion that perhaps explains why it could only be presented in this fashion. Additionally, as said, the setup will require some patience, and while the story itself also doesn’t reinvent the wheel, like other similar tales of survival (“ Castaway ” being the most memorable example), “Life Of Pi” thematically focuses on the endurance of the soul and the spirit; the need to never lose hope and thus survive even the most brutal of ordeals. Several of the film’s elements are hackneyed on the surface, the aforementioned flashback structure and the  “if you don’t lose hope, life will be beautiful” platitudes, but Lee goes beyond clichés with a curious, warm and wondrously beatific approach to the “letting go” philosophy that reverberates. In short, its strengths far outweigh its minor problems. Making the familiar feel universal, Lee digs deep with every facet of filmmaking – sound, vision and poignant texture — to create an engrossing cinematic experience that is ultimately emotionally involving and rich. 

While its journey to the big screen saw many directors come and go over the years, and even leaving more wondering if the book could even be faithfully told, Ang Lee has delivered and then some. Deeply resonant and soulful, “Life Of Pi, is a harrowing journey of survival, self-discovery and connection that will inspire and awe. [A-]

This is a reprint of our review that ran during the New York Film Festival.

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Review by Brian Eggert November 22, 2012

In Ang Lee’s Life of Pi , a marriage between spiritual faith and the wonder of the natural world offers audiences a reflective parable for religious understanding and even the very nature of storytelling. The harrowing tale involves an Indian boy and a Bengal tiger on a lifeboat in the Pacific for several months, and as they battle each other for territorial superiority, the human and the animal begin to understand each other. Through their exchange, the screenplay by David Magee, based on Yann Martel’s 2001 novel, meditates on how as individuals, we see the world as we choose to see it—whether that be the emotions we observe in animal behavior, the meanings we project onto events in our lives, or how we amplify our experiences for effect. Through the course of the film, we take part in a beautiful worldview, rich with visual spectacles and a spiritual epiphany that even the most devout cynics will cherish.

The film opens in Pondicherry, a former French colony in India, where the family of our young protagonist, Piscene Patel (played at age 12 by Ayush Tandon), runs a zoo. Schoolboys remind him that his name, taken from the French word for “swimming pool,” sounds like “pissing,” and so he changes it to Pi and establishes his nickname by memorizing the mathematical constant’s neverending tail. An inquisitive sort, Pi was raised Hindu, but to understand God, he explores Christianity and Islam as well, adopting trademarks from each religion for his own uses, much to his strict father’s dismay. When Pi’s father must sell the family zoo and the animals, he books passage to Canada aboard a Japanese ship. Pi—now a teenager and played by Suraj Sharma, an inexperienced actor who shows astounding range, is forced to leave his home and the young dancer (Shravanthi Sainath) with whom he’s fallen in love. In rough seas over the Marinas Trench, the Japanese ship sinks, Pi’s family dies, and he’s left on a 20-foot lifeboat with a single rat, a ravenous hyena, an injured zebra, a protective orangutan, and a large Bengal tiger known as “Richard Parker.”

When the inevitable collision of hunger and territorial clashes subside, Pi is left floating on a makeshift raft connected by rope to the main lifeboat, which Richard Parker has conquered. Two hundred twenty-seven days pass as man and beast attempt to coexist, and the film carefully spells out how Pi and Richard Parker form a unique trust over battles for food and space under the lifeboat’s protective tarp. Together they witness tremendous sights, from a wave of flying fish to a bioluminescent ocean surface breached by a whale, from another massive storm to a green living island populated by meerkats. Structurally, Pi’s adventure is bookended by modern-day scenes in Canada, where a wise middle-aged Pi (Irrfan Khan) recounts his adventure to a skeptical Canadian author (Rafe Spall) looking for his next book’s inspiration. At the very beginning and end, the film alternates between scenes in Pi’s contemporary home and flashbacks to his life’s story, while the central piece of the story remains Pi’s account of his survival.

At no point in the film does Lee betray the viewer’s suspension of disbelief, despite the vast use of computerized special effects employed to make these otherwise inconceivable movie moments come to life. The effects used to render the zoo animals throughout the picture are nothing short of amazing, particularly the CGI employed for Richard Parker. Although many scenes using four different tigers were shot, much of Richard Parker’s behavior would have been impossible for trainers to safely allow for a live animal, and the integration of real-life and computer-generated imagery is flawless. Wild attacks and even a seasick tiger are realized brilliantly, while the film’s sinking ship sequence contains a haunting exquisiteness. Shot in various international locales in Montreal and India, the production required Lee’s crew to build a massive tank in Taiwan for the sea sequences, each augmented by a vast amount of artificially designed imagery. The splendor inhabiting every frame of Pi’s seafaring survival story displays a painterly quality added to the horizon where the water and sky meet, and therein reflect one another in fantastic, illusory ways.

Lee’s visual mastery also makes the best use of the 3D device yet, even better than James Cameron’s Avatar, or any number of stop-motion animation projects to showcase the effect. It’s not that Lee sends animals reaching out to touch his audience; rather, he gives the adventure depth and space. Water seems to exist on an expansive surface, and with Pi’s lifeboat often a speck on this open plane, Lee truly places his viewer in the scene in ways no filmmaker has conceived before. At other times, Lee manipulates his aspect ratios to better frame a scene or action. At one point, the rectangle frame becomes a pan & scan square with Pi’s boat in the center, accentuating his isolation in the open sea. During the flying fish stampede, the film’s 1.85:1 frame widens to 2.40:1, and we follow a daredevil tuna chasing after its prey, the hind fin just bleeding out of the frame’s margins to enhance the effect. Such details occur throughout Life of Pi , but they never take precedence over the spiritual significance of the story.

Because of its more extravagant elements, Martel’s source text was considered technically unfilmable for years, and after several other directors left the project (among them M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuarón, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet), the pronounced challenges attracted the Taiwan-born American director. Lee’s diversity of projects begins with cherished period dramas Sense and Sensibility (1995) and The Ice Storm (1997), continues through his martial arts reinvention of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), and achieves rare explorations of intimacy in Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Lust, Caution (2007). But then, Lee is also capable of realizing grand epics such as the underseen Civil War piece Ride with the Devil (1999) or bringing a cartoony quality to expressive superheroes with Hulk (2003). He finds a perfect balance between the emotional profundity of his past efforts and his own visual ambition in Life of Pi , a project that sets a bold new standard for the use of 3D and CGI but also has a thoughtful and understanding message inside an incredible visual experience.

Early in Life of Pi, the Canadian author is told Pi’s story will make him believe in God, but perhaps a better assessment is that this tale will invoke a sense of understanding toward religions and stimulate an exploration of faith. The ways in which this is accomplished in the film an audience should discover for themselves. But when Pi’s inevitable survival comes to pass, the film ends by asking questions about what we have seen and how we interpret what has happened. What this critic has seen is a marvelous piece of visual poetry with insights that require contemplation long after the visual awe has subsided. Lee has created a superbly balanced motion picture that moves special effects and 3D beyond the realm of pure entertainment augmentation; where other films use such technical modes for thrills alone, Lee creates a breathless experience both visceral and philosophical—and also unforgettable.

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A critical review of ‘Life of Pi’

Eye on the Oscars 2013: Best Picture

By Todd Kushigemachi

Todd Kushigemachi

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The tale of a young man, a tiger and God, Yann Martel ‘s bestselling novel “ Life of Pi ” had been dubbed “unfilmable” countless times before Ang Lee’s adaptation screened. The Oscar-winning helmer handily silenced skeptics, delivering a pic praised by critics as a remarkable visual achievement.

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Several reviewers felt compelled to catalog the stunning images of the survival parable, acknowledging the stellar work by the visual effects team and cinematographer Claudio Miranda. Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal fondly recalled, among other memorable sights, “a whale breaching in the night, immensely phosphorescent.”

But perhaps the most reverential praise was reserved for the lifelike computer-generated imagery of Richard Parker, Pi’s Bengal tiger companion. Not particularly enthusiastic about the film, A.O. Scott of the New York Times still described the physical details of the beast as “so perfectly rendered that you will swear that Richard Parker is real.”

The 3D also drew special attention, including favorable comparisons to James Cameron’s stereoscopic milestone “Avatar.” Even the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert, a vocal skeptic of the technology, praised Lee’s use of the cinematic tool.

“What astonishes me is how much I love the use of 3D in ‘Life of Pi,’ ” Ebert wrote. “Although I continue to have doubts about it in general, Lee never uses it for surprises or sensations, but only to deepen the film’s sense of places and events.”

The visual pleasures of the film might have been universally praised, but critics were less in sync about the film’s framing device, featuring adult Pi (Irrfan Khan) telling his story to a writer (Rafe Spall) decades later. Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times referred to their conversations as the “weakest link” in an “otherwise lyrical film.”

However, other writers were more focused on how these scenes establish a deeper, existential twist for the visual feast. While David Edelstein of New York Magazine described the scenes as “clunky,” he suggested that they pay off.

“The movie has a sting in its tail that puts what you’ve seen in a startlingly harsh context,” Edelstein wrote.

Variety said: “Summoning the most advanced digital-filmmaking technology to deliver the most old-fashioned kind of audience satisfaction, this exquisitely beautiful adaptation of Yann Martel’s castaway saga has a sui generis quality that’s never less than beguiling, even if its fable-like construction and impeccable artistry come up a bit short in terms of truly gripping, elemental drama.” — Justin Chang

Eye on the Oscars 2013: Best Picture Are directors behind punishing run times? | The upset that wasn’t an upset: ‘Shakespeare in Love’ Critics praise, punch nominees Pointed critiques accompany plaudits for the contenders, giving voters plenty to chew on “Amour” | “Argo” | “Beasts of the Southern Wild” | “Django Unchained” | “Les Miserables” | “Life of Pi” | “Lincoln” | “Silver Linings Playbook” | “Zero Dark Thirty”

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Life of Pi Parent Guide

While intense peril, the killing of animals and life-threatening moments for pi are too scary for young viewers, ang lee's direction make this a remarkable oceanic adventure for most teens and adults..

Everything familiar about the life of Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) is lost during a shipwreck. Now the boy finds himself stranded at sea aboard a lifeboat with another survivor of the sunken vessel -- a Bengal tiger.

Release date November 20, 2012

Run Time: 127 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

Think of Life of Pi as Bollywood’s version of Tom Hanks’ Cast Away . But in this story, “Wilson” weighs 450 pounds and bites.

As a child, Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) lives in a zoo. His father (Adil Hussain) runs the facility in Pondicherry, India until political unrest pushes him and his wife (Tabu) to emigrate to Canada with their two sons and crates full of exotic animals. Midway across the ocean, the Japanese cargo ship they are traveling on hits stormy waters and capsizes, drowning everyone but Pi, an injured zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. They all end up on the same 26-foot lifeboat.

Acting newcomer Suraj Sharma carries the weight of this movie with a natural aplomb, moving from terrified orphan to the savvy captain of his tiny vessel. For him, it’s more than a physical and emotional transformation; it is the spiritual recognition of God’s hand in his life. How else does he explain 227 days on a floating dinner plate with a hungry omnivore?

Despite the frequent references to religion, the spiritual journey may not occur to audience members, who like Pi’s father, would rather put their confidence in reason and science. In the end, viewers, like the Japanese officials investigating the ship’s sinking, will chose to believe what they want to. But that doesn’t negate the powerful messages this film contains, including the uncertainty of good-byes, a precocious solution to bullying and the positive power of adversity in propelling us forward.

While intense peril, the killing of animals and life-threatening moments for Pi are too scary for young viewers, Ang Lee’s direction of Yann Martel’s 2001 novel make this a remarkable oceanic adventure for most teens and adults. Brilliant visual and 3D effects, seafaring life forms and hunger-induced hallucinations contrast with the ever-present thirst for survival. If the boy’s dire circumstances don’t grab the attention of older audiences, the starving tiger will.

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Life of pi rating & content info.

Why is Life of Pi rated PG? Life of Pi is rated PG by the MPAA for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril.

Violence: The film contains frequent moments of intense peril for both human and animal characters. Numerous characters are washed overboard or drowned during a ship’s sinking. Animals are attacked, killed and eaten. (Though some body parts are briefly shown, little blood or action is seen.) A child is bullied at school. A small boy tries to feed meat to a tiger. A goat is later tied up, attacked and killed as a lesson to the boy. A boy talks about killings and the murder of a man.

Sexual Content: A young teen couple falls in love. A boy urinates on part of the boat to establish his “territory”.

Language: Students repeatedly taunt another child using a crude urination term as a derogatory form of the boy’s name.

Alcohol / Drug Use: A zookeeper uses tranquilizers to lessen the stress of sea travel on animals.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

Life of Pi Parents' Guide

Which version of the story do you believe? Why do you think it is the more likely version of Pi’s experience? Pi asks the visiting writer why his story should have to mean anything. Do you think this story is supposed to have meaning? If so, what do you think it is?

Why is Pi drawn to religion? How does he hope to find meaning in life? How does Pi’s girlfriend and the other young dancers use dance to express their love of God? Why does Pi’s father consider religion to be darkness?

What does the Patel’s family experience with the cook on the ship reveal about their standing in society in India? What cultural and societal adjustments do immigrants have to make when they movie to a new country?

What things does Pi’s father teach him about animals? How does that knowledge help him deal with the tiger?

This movie is based on the novel The Life of Pi by Yann Martel .

The most recent home video release of Life of Pi movie is March 12, 2013. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Life of Pi

Release Date: 12 March 2013

Life of Pi releases to home video in two packages: 2-Disc (BD/Ultraviolet/DVD & DC Combo) or 3-Disc (BD3D/BD/Ultraviolet/DVD & DC). Both versions offer the following bonus features:

Life of Pi: 2-Disc and 3-Disc:

- Blu-ray copy of the film

- Documentary: A Remarkable Vision (19:35 min)

- Documentary: A Filmmaker’s Epic Journey (63:29 min)

- Documentary: Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright ( 8:35min)

- Stills: Gallery: Art by Joanna Bush, Haan Lee, Dawn Masi and Alexis Rockman

- Storyboards

Disc 2: DVD & Digital Copy (Film only)

Life of Pi : 3-Disc package also includes:

- Blu-ray 3D copy of the film

- 3D/2D Deleted Scenes: Anandi’s Second Dance, Time to Grow Up, Happy Birthday, Did I Say Something Wrong? and Darkness

- 3D/2D VFX Progressions: Tsimstum Sinking and The Wave Tank

Related home video titles:

Another young boy who is aboard a sinking ship finds the only other survivor of the tragic accident is a Black Stallion . Alfred Hitchcock directs a film about an unlikely group who get stranded together in a Lifeboat.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Life of Pi – review

T he Taiwan-born Ang Lee rapidly established himself in the 1990s as one of the world's most versatile film-makers, moving on from the trilogy of movies about Chinese families that made his name to Jane Austen's England ( Sense and Sensibility ) and Richard Nixon's America ( The Ice Storm ). If he revisits a place or genre it's to tell a very different story – a martial arts movie in medieval China ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) is followed by a spy thriller in wartime Shanghai ( Lust, Caution ), and a western with a US civil war background ( Ride With the Devil ) is succeeded by a western about a gay relationship in present-day Wyoming ( Brokeback Mountain ).

He adopts different styles to fit his new subjects, and while there are certain recurrent themes, among them the disruption of families and young people facing moral and physical challenges, there are no obsessive concerns of the sort once considered a necessity for auteurs. He has a fastidious eye for a great image but he also has a concern for language.

His magnificent new film is a version of Yann Martel's Booker prize-winning novel, Life of Pi , adapted by an American writer, David Magee, whose previous credits were films set in England during the first half of the 20th century, Finding Neverland and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day . From its opening scene of animals and birds strutting and preening themselves in a sunlit zoo to the final credits of fish and nautical objects shimmering beneath the sea, the movie has a sense of the mysterious, the magical. This effect is compounded by the hallucinatory 3D, and in tone the film suggests Robinson Crusoe rewritten by Laurence Sterne.

The form is a story within a story within a story. An unnamed Canadian author whom we assume to be Yann Martel himself (Rafe Spall) is told by an Indian he meets that there is a man in Montreal called Pi who has a story that will make you believe in God. He's Piscine Molitor Patel (Irrfan Khan), a philosophy teacher, and he tells the curious story of his own extraordinary life, beginning as the son of a zookeeper in Pondicherry, the French enclave in India that wasn't ceded until 1954.

The movie's two central characters both obtained their names by comic accident. The deeply serious Piscine (played by Gautam Belur at five, Ayush Tandon at 12 and Suraj Sharma at 16)was named after an uncle's favourite swimming pool, the Piscine Molitor in Paris, but changed his name to the Greek letter and numinous number Pi after fellow schoolboys made jokes about pissing. He later became fascinated by a Bengal tiger in the zoo caught by the English hunter Richard Parker who called him Thirsty. On delivery to the zoo their names were accidently reversed and the tiger became Richard Parker. Was this fate or chance?

Growing up, the ever curious Pi becomes attracted to religion and the meaning of life, a spiritual journey that the film treats with a respectful wit as the boy rejects his father's rationalism and creates a personal amalgam of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. His faith is tested as an adolescent when his father is forced to give up the family zoo, where Pi realises he's been as much a captive as the animals themselves. A Japanese freighter becomes a temporary ark on which the Patel family take the animals to be sold in Canada. But it's struck by a storm as dramatic as anything ever put on the screen, and Pi becomes a combination of Noah, Crusoe, Prospero and Job. Alone above the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific, he's an orphan captaining a lifeboat with only a zebra, a hyena, a female orang-utan and the gigantic Bengal tiger Richard Parker for company.

This is grand adventure on an epic scale, a survival story that takes up half the movie. It's no Peaceable Kingdom like Edward Hicks's charming early 19th-century painting, where the lion sleeps with the lamb. This is a Darwinian place that Pi must learn to command. Using state-of-the-art 3D and digitally created beasts, Lee and his team of technicians make it utterly real, as they do a mysterious island that briefly provides a dangerously seductive haven. The 227 days at sea are a test of physique, mental adaptation and faith, and Suraj Sharma makes Pi's spiritual journey as convincing as his nautical one.

He confronts thirst and starvation, finds a modus vivendi with the fierce tiger, endures and wonders at a mighty storm, a squadron of flying fish, a humpbacked whale, a school of dolphins, a night illuminated by luminous jellyfish. This brave new world is observed by a young Chilean director of photography, appropriately named Claudio Miranda . The movie does for water and the sea what Lawrence of Arabia did for sand and desert, and one thinks of what Alfred Hitchock, who used 3D so imaginatively in his 1954 film of Dial M For Murder , might have done on his wartime Lifeboat had he been given such technical facilities.

This poetic Life of Pi concludes with a fascinating, deliberately prosaic coda that raises questions about the reality of what we've seen and confronts the teleological issues involved. One thinks of the reporter's remark at the end of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance : "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." At another level, Sam Goldwyn's advice to the screenwriter comes to mind: "Give me the story and send the message by Western Union."

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• Yann Martel
• Irrfan Khan

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Life of Pi Reviews

A marvelous piece of visual poetry with insights that require contemplation long after the visual awe has subsided.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 21, 2022

The animation involved in bringing Richard Parker to life is something you just have to see. I was blown away.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 23, 2022

ee's directorial instincts are sharp as ever. He can cultivate a believable relationship between Pi and Richard, relying primarily on subtle body language and, of course, the masterful visual effects.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 28, 2022

In my view, people who find no drama in everyday life and lives, and feel obliged, for example, to ski down Mount Everest to keep themselves occupied and excited, are not to be trusted about important matters.

Full Review | Feb 12, 2021

Why must bitter reality always rear its ugly head in such parables?

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Dec 2, 2020

Suraj Sharma gives a performance that exudes both boyish charm and a soulful desperation.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 14, 2020

Giving Ang Lee access to 3D camera equipment and a modern-day fable like "Life of Pi" is the best idea anyone has had in a long time.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 14, 2020

I have certainly seen dramas about survivors; but none, absolutely none that I have seen compare to the spectacular 'Life of Pi'. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Jun 25, 2020

Among its many virtues, this beautiful fable of a teen boy holding a grown tiger at bay for 277 days at sea makes a strong case for the superiority of live-action drama over animation...

Full Review | Jun 19, 2020

...in the end, we must abandon ourselves to the storytelling. With a gorgeous film like Life of Pi, that's not hard to do.

Full Review | Mar 10, 2020

Although certain narrative themes seem overblown or loaded with fallacious simplicity, film is a visual medium at heart and LIFE OF PI is the work of a visual storyteller at the top of his game.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2020

In a rare alignment of artistic vision and blockbuster ambition, Life of Pi stretches the horizon of cinema's new technology to restore old-fashioned movie magic.

Full Review | Jul 29, 2019

Lee imbues the film with remarkable grace, even when its imagery threatens to overwhelm it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 8, 2019

This is a strong piece of filmmaking from Lee, an exquisite bit of eye candy that examines the power of God and religion in a sharp and confident manner.

Full Review | Apr 11, 2019

A boy, and a tiger, and a vast, endless ocean. Ang Lee makes a film out of material that seems almost unfilmable, and a lot of it is quite wondrous.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 22, 2019

Ultimately, Life of Pi as film is a visual complement to Yann Martel's story as opposed to a fresh telling of its own

Full Review | Feb 28, 2019

Life of Pi is beautifully rendered with some fine performances. Unfortunately, this novel deemed by many to be 'unfilmable' ultimately proves to at least partially earn that distinction.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 21, 2019

Lee has successfully married some of this year's most sumptuous visuals with one of its most compelling and unashamedly spiritual stories.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 6, 2019

The visuals and special effects are imaginatively exquisite.

Full Review | Jan 19, 2019

Any old actor will tell you to never share the stage with children or animals. Certainly, that is the case here, as the film is almost exclusively child and animal -- and wonderful.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 1, 2018

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• DVD & Streaming
• Action/Adventure , Drama , Mystery/Suspense , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• November 21, 2012
• Suraj Sharma as Pi Patel; Irrfan Khan as Older Pi; Ayush Tandon as Young Pi; Tabu as Pi's Mother; Adil Hussain as Pi's Father; Shravanthi Sainath as Pi's Girlfriend; Rafe Spall as The Writer

Home Release Date

• March 12, 2013

Distributor

• 20th Century Fox

Movie Review

It is Noah’s Ark in miniature—a lifeboat floating on the skin of the sea when the world has been lost.

Built for 30, the lifeboat holds two: Pi, a Hindu/Christian/Muslim teen who never got to say goodbye to his girlfriend; and Richard Parker, a hungry Bengal tiger who doesn’t care. There used to be more. A hyena. A zebra with a broken leg. An orangutan named Orange Juice. All are gone now, killed and consumed. Pi and Parker are alone. They and God.

When life shrinks to the space of a lifeboat holding a hungry tiger, it takes on a new character. Each day for Pi becomes an exercise in survival: finding food, catching rainwater, staying away from Richard Parker’s claws. He marks his days on the side of the boat, numbering the sunsets with a knife. Slowly he trains the tiger, hoping his mastery over the beast will keep him alive.

And as the boat floats through days and weeks and months, a bond grows between Pi and Parker. “My fear of him keeps me alert,” Pi says. “Tending to his needs gives me purpose.” This is not friendship, not love. But it is something precious and real.

They have no doves to search for land. Their flare gun is spent, and neither their resources nor resourcefulness can last forever. And yet Pi believes they float in the cup of God’s hand. Perhaps He will carry them home.

Positive Elements

The movie never tells us how long Pi and Richard Parker are adrift in that lifeboat, but the book on which its based (written by Yann Martel) informs us that they spend 227 days together. More than eight months. To survive that long requires something special, and Pi shows us that he’s special indeed.

Though he has no real skills to speak of, Pi quickly bones up on the essentials with a survival handbook he finds with a few supplies. Naturally, the booklet has little to say about surviving a shipwreck with a Bengal tiger, but he figures out the basics of that too, patching together a raft that floats outside the lifeboat. He spends a good chunk of time there, fishing and collecting rainwater, throwing the occasional meal to the tiger. So we certainly have to laud Pi’s resourcefulness.

But Pi’s far more than a pragmatic survivor. The handbook exhorts him to “never lose hope,” and he doesn’t. It’s that hope, in fact, that buoys the boat as much as its wood does, and it’s Pi’s sometimes unreasoning sense of grace that allows the story to sail.

When in desperation Richard Parker leaps from the boat to try to catch a fish, it would seem as though Pi’s problems have been solved: Just let the big cat drown out there. But Pi can’t. He finds a way to save the tiger’s life (though the tiger would never show the same consideration), offering grace to an animal that certainly doesn’t deserve it and will never fully repay it. When both seem to be on the verge of death, Pi sits down next to Parker and puts his furry head on his lap, stroking him, staying with him to what he presumes will be their end.

Spiritual Elements

The movie begins with a writer visiting an adult Pi after hearing that the man had “a story that would make me believe in God.” But while the potent sense of spirituality that pervades this tale is Life of Pi’ s greatest strength, it’s also what makes it deeply problematic.

Pi, as I mentioned when I first introduced him, worships at multiple altars of faith. He was raised Hindu, absorbing the religion’s colorful myths as another boy might the stories of superheroes. Several Hindu gods are named, images of them are seen, and Pi explicitly prays to one. But when his brother dares him to drink some holy water from a local church, a priest spots him, observes that he must be thirsty and gives him a glass of less-sanctified water (an echo of Christ being the Living Water, perhaps). From then on, Pi’s fascinated by Jesus and fervently embraces who He is and what He represents—while thanking the Hindu god Vishnu for bringing Christ into his life. Later, he comes to appreciate Islam, too—the way the Arabic prayers roll off the tongue, the comfort of the repetitive kneeling and bowing.

His father, a science-driven man who declares that all religion is “darkness,” kids Pi, saying that if he converts to just three more religions, every day of the week will be some sort of holiday. More seriously, he exhorts him to also pray at the altar to reason. Every decision Pi makes, his father insists, must be based in science and rationality.

At the beginning of his lifeboat journey, Pi calls out, “God, I give myself to You. I am Your vessel. Whatever comes I want to know. Show me.” He thanks God for all the hardships he endures, for Richard Parker and, when he feels he’s about to die, for his life—telling the Almighty that he’s looking forward to seeing his family again. During a storm he grows angry, asking God what more He could possibly want or take from him.

[ Spoiler Warning ] When both Pi and Richard Parker are close to death, their boat drifts to a floating island that’s completely edible and covered with meerkats. But at night, the island reverses its nature. Instead of feeding visitors, it feeds on them. (All the meerkats flee to the trees at sundown as even the pools of fresh water turn to acid.) Pi interprets both manifestations as gifts from God. He says, God “gave me rest … and a sign to continue the journey.”

[ Bigger Spoiler Warning ] When Pi is finally rescued, the Japanese company that owned the cargo ship that sank sends representatives to Pi to find out what happened. Pi tells them the story. Then, when they express incredulity, he tells them another one: In this version, there are no animals on the boat—only people who, it would appear, correspond in some way to the animals. An injured Buddhist has a broken leg, just like the zebra. A vile cook stands in for the hyena. The orangutan, in this version, is Pi’s own mother. All are killed. Some are eaten.

If we believe the cannibalistic story, we dismiss the Richard Parker story as some sort of psychological device crafted by Pi to deal with the horror of it all. But if we can believe the first telling, we embrace the idea that, with God, all things are possible: That a floating, carnivorous island is a gift not unlike Manna from heaven. If we believe that both stories as true, then the first—like a myth or parable—gives the second meaning and resonance.

This uncertainty makes for a fascinating movie that deeply mulls faith while offering other extraordinary but ancillary messages. But without proper mooring, a casual viewer might take away a couple of dangerous messages: One, that all faiths lead to the same God, and two, religion infuses meaning into our lives regardless of whether it’s literally true or not. The latter might be akin to embracing a figurative resurrection of Christ (in that He lives in our hearts) while suggesting that a literal resurrection is beside the point. Christianity rejects both of these messages: Jesus unreservedly tells us He is the only way to God, and the Apostle Paul declares that without a literal resurrection, we are to be pitied above all men.

Sexual Content

None. Pi does take a fancy to a Hindu dancer, and the two spend some chaste time together.

Violent Content

The natural world is not a gentle place, and we see evidence of that here. It’s a lesson that Pi learns well before he even boards that ill-fated ship. After Pi’s father (who runs a zoo) catches his son trying to feed Richard Parker a slab of meat (through a set of bars), he decides to teach Pi a lesson: He ties a live goat to the bars and forces his son to watch as the tiger kills and drags the beast through. (The camera cuts away from the fatal strike. Then we see the dead animal in Parker’s jaws.)

On the lifeboat, things get far, far worse. The zebra’s obviously lame, and the hyena begins attacking the huge beast, nipping on its flanks as Pi and the zebra both scream. (Moviegoers get off easy, though. In the book, the hyena begins eating the zebra while it’s still alive.) Then the hyena and orangutan get into it. Though Orange Juice stuns the hyena with a blow to the head, the beast recovers and kills the orangutan. And when the hyena starts crawling for Pi, Richard Parker suddenly reveals himself—lunging at the hyena and killing it instantly. Parker later snacks on a meerkat. We catch a brief glimpse of what appears to be a hippo being attacked by sharks. A sperm whale tangles with a giant squid. Pi pounds a fish with a hammer to knock it out/kill it, apologizing profusely to it afterward.

We see the cargo ship sink, killing many. Pi’s father and a cook nearly come to blows.

Crude or Profane Language

Pi’s real name is Piscine Molitor Patel. His schoolmates mock the pronunciation of its first syllable.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other negative elements.

Pi urinates on part of the boat as a way to mark his territory and keep Richard Parker away. The tiger, in response, sprays both Pi’s region and Pi himself with a urine blast of his own. Several animals get seasick; we hear them retch and see the hyena vomit in the boat.

Life of Pi is unlike any movie I’ve ever seen. It is both beautiful and ugly, profound and problematic.

It is rich in conversation starters, and it rebuts, powerfully, the idea that faith is “darkness.” It speaks eloquently to the core of what it means to be faithful—to surrender yourself to God, to trust Him, to allow Him to use you as He will. It hints that we should always be on the lookout for miracles, be it a floating carnivorous island or simply the blessing of having food to eat for another day.

You could say, then, that Life of Pi contains snippets that might be used as sermon illustrations in almost any Christian church in the world. But it’s telling that Pi’s first religion was Hinduism, because there’s something very Eastern about the manifestation of spirituality here. Maybe that’s because when you’ve grown up with 33 million gods, incorporating one more (Christ) into the pantheon isn’t that big of a deal to Pi.

Most Christians will agree with Pi’s rational, religion-free father when he says that believing in everything is “the same thing as not believing anything at all.” Indeed, theologically, the idea that all religions are true is simply not tenable. When we accept Christ as Savior, we accept Him as our only Savior—and we accept Him through a blend of not just what we feel is right, but what is historically, literally true.

Life of Pi isn’t interested in any of that.

To hear Paul Asay talk about Life of Pi on the Official Plugged In Podcast, access Episode #177 from our Podcast page .

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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reshmasultana 516 days ago

The best movie I have ever watched. Such a different movie form other that makes it unique 

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A well crafted piece of art, successful in landing the viewers in a turmoil of emotions and leaving with a feeling of blankness and fulfillment both. Hats off to the entire team!

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Amit pali 1415 days ago, anup jadhav 1415 days ago, visual stories.

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Life of Pi Review

Ang Lee has taken the most impossible of stories and given it life. Life of Pi is adventure on a grand scale; easily the most technically advanced film of 2012.

Genius is not a word that should be used lightly. It should be reserved for the truly extraordinary, the transcendent individuals that push boundaries and open the world to new possibilities. Director Ang Lee is a genius. His film adaptation of Yann Martel's epic fantasy novel, Life of Pi , is simply astonishing. It reminds us that imagination and artistry have no limit in the right hands. Lee has taken the most impossible of stories and given it life. Life of Pi is adventure on a grand scale; easily the most technically advanced film of 2012. But beyond the stupefying special effects, it is a story of faith and perseverance that anyone can relate to.

Life of Pi is told in flashback by the adult Piscine Patel (Irrfan Kahn), as he prepares dinner for an inquisitive writer (Rafe Spall). The younger Piscine (Suraj Sharma) abhors his name. Growing up in a botanical garden turned zoo in Pondicherry, India; he concocts a clever scheme to shorten his name and stop the merciless taunting from the other children. His parents, a spiritual mother and atheist father, have vastly different views of the world. Pi, seeking to bridge the gap between his parents' faiths, baffles them further by becoming an ardent student of all religions. This quest to understand the nature of God becomes more pressing when his father decides the family will sell the zoo and move to Canada. They pack up the animals for sale and embark on a long sea voyage. What happens next is both tragic and incredible. Pi survives an unthinkable catastrophe, only to be stranded on a lifeboat with the zoo's Bengal tiger, the oddly named Richard Parker.

Pi's ocean odyssey with Richard Parker is phenomenal to see. The visual effects in this movie are mind boggling. You sit there, completely entranced, 3D glasses glued to your face, wondering, how on earth did they make this film? Life of Pi has this dreamlike quality, where even though everything looks real, the scope of what you are seeing confounds the senses utterly. The film captures the fantasy aspect of the novel perfectly. It is a true escape from reality. Many critics are comparing Life of Pi to Avatar. That comparison makes sense to a point. Both films are brilliantly made and flawless in execution. The difference is the setting. Avatar is a science fiction film on another world. Life of Pi is very much in our sphere. Everything you see exists here and is normal. The difference is the circumstance. Convincing audiences that a boy and tiger can survive together on the open ocean is a magnificent feat.

Lee's particular gift as a director is his uncanny ability to explore peculiar bonds. He's done this with remarkable skill in most of his previous work. The homosexual cowboy romance in Brokeback Mountain, the slave fighting for the south in Ride with the Devil, the suburban couples engaging in key parties in The Ice Storm; these stories are not that different from the relationship with Pi and Richard Parker. They are such an unlikely pair, but wholly dependent on each others survival. Life of Pi has a few twists that may seem off putting at first, but when you think about the journey that Pi takes, the conclusion that the writer comes to at the end is fitting. Ang Lee is not the director that spoon feeds you a story. He's too cerebral for convention. This gives him the capability to effortlessly move between film genres. It's a rare breed of filmmaker that would be up to the challenge and scale of this story.

It's important to note that Life of Pi is not without fault. I thought the scenes with the adult Pi and the writer were unnecessary. They serve a purpose to draw the philosophical conclusion at the end. I think this could have been done in the context of the primary story. It would have required more abstract thought from the audience, but I do believe they would have been able to make that leap. That minor critique aside, the film is audacious, resoundingly good. It is another feather in the cap of a bonafide, dare I say it again, genius.

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Movie Review: ‘Life of Pi’ visually stunning but struggles to stay afloat

“Life of Pi” takes the realms of digital effects and cinematography by storm, but it ultimately leaves most viewers struggling to remain on board with its overblown — and consequently unsustainable — intent.

Despite commendable loyalty to Yann Martel’s novel, the film establishes its takeaway value in stunning imagery and effects. At times, the visuals seem overdone, such as during a daydream the protagonist Pi experiences as he looks into the ocean that essentially resembles an elaborate Windows XP screensaver. The film strives for a realistic effect evident through the meticulously lifelike quality of the digitally-created tiger. However, it also seeks to parade its own artful fantasy through elements like the daydream sequence, the living island and a flying fish onslaught.

Ang Lee successfully met the visual challenges of directing a reputedly unfilmable movie. After all, how could the premise of a boy and a tiger stranded at sea ever maintain any sort of visual interest? The few environments and characters in focus lead Lee to feature intriguing cinematography and effects as well as attention-grabbing mise-en-scene. Lee deserves utmost praise for “Life of Pi” if only for how he manages to give water new life, which he does in one way by manipulating the ocean’s biology.

Regarding the (usually) digitally-generated tiger known as Richard Parker, Pi’s recounted shipwreck story itself and the beautiful presentation of the oceanic environment, viewers have one outlook: We don’t care if it’s real or not, we just want to believe it. This viewers’ perspective, not coincidentally, ties into Pi’s religious sampling of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. Pi searches not so much for truth as for something worth believing in.

Some viewers have criticized this movie as beautiful but hollow. I would somewhat agree given how I (along with what seemed to be the rest of the theater) was wholeheartedly enchanted by the movie but felt not enough narrative substance endured. The film is a captivating vision with messages, subject matter and symbolism far too vast and ambitious to properly absorb, leaving something to be desired despite already feeling overextended. However, the presentation-driven implications of the narrative give it redemption it otherwise lacks — and lack it does if only because of (spoiler alert) the questionable truth of its story that leaves viewers feeling betrayed. The twist, though, is not exactly open to criticism considering its loyalty to the novel.

In this sense of how the film may be received, the overwhelming yet unclear nature of the movie grants us insight into Pi’s encountered contradictions, skepticism, desire to believe and curiosity that drive his spiritual evolution. The narrative’s propulsion of give-and-take between viewers’ and Pi’s perspectives, like a storm driving the rise and fall of waves, engages audiences along with Ang Lee’s directive genius.

Many subjects of this film relate to the term “a new life”— the Patel family’s relocation to America, Pi’s spirituality, even the verity of Pi’s life at sea. However, most of all, “Life of Pi” gives new life to Ang Lee’s reputation as a director and especially to the expanding potential of CGI.

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By Yann Martel

An expertly crafted story of Pi's survival and self-discovery is an extraordinary meditation on the essence of existence. Pi's journey through the Pacific challenges readers to embark on their introspective voyage through life's uncharted waters.

About the Book

Article written by Mizpah Albert

M.A. in English Literature and a Ph.D. in English Language Teaching.

Yann Martel’s masterpiece, ‘ Life of Pi ,’ seamlessly weaves together a tapestry of captivating characters, profound themes, evocative language, and thought-provoking context. This philosophical adventure novel has captivated the hearts and minds of readers worldwide and remains an enduring classic for its depth and exploration of the human condition.

The story of Pi

‘ Life of Pi ‘ is a mesmerizing exploration of the human spirit’s capacity for endurance and the complexities of belief in the face of adversity. Pi Patel, a young Indian boy, is shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean after a devastating storm. Alone on a lifeboat, he is accompanied by an unlikely companion, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Together, they face the challenges of the open sea, forging a remarkable bond between human and beast. Pi’s ingenuity and resilience are tested as days turn into months, prompting him to draw upon his religious beliefs and inner strength. The novel’s narrative takes an intriguing turn as Pi’s story is questioned, leaving readers to ponder the nature of truth, faith, and the power of storytelling. 

The choice of characters 

One of the most commendable aspects of ‘ Life of Pi ‘ is Martel’s deliberate and brilliant choice of characters. Each character in ‘ Life of Pi ‘ has a unique personality and plays a vital role in the story. 

The protagonist, Pi, is a fascinating character with a multi-dimensional personality that makes him relatable and endearing. Martel did an excellent job of contrasting Pi’s curiosity and interest in religion and zoology, highlighting the human desire for intellectual understanding and spiritual fulfillment. 

Further, adding Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, as Pi’s companion on his journey was an ingenious stroke of literary brilliance. It symbolizes the duality of nature and the internal struggle of human nature itself. The juxtaposition of Pi’s vulnerability with Richard Parker’s primal instincts raises questions about humanity and its inherent savagery.

Impressive choice of themes

The story of ‘ Life of Pi ‘ is a truly remarkable work of literature that impressively intertwines the themes of survival, faith, and storytelling. The author’s skillful portrayal of Pi’s curiosity and interest in religion and zoology highlights the human desire for intellectual understanding and spiritual fulfillment. The themes of faith and reason, belief and skepticism, are explored in a way that challenges readers to question their own convictions and find meaning in a world full of uncertainties.

Physical and spiritual survival is another central theme that permeates the novel . The juxtaposition of Pi’s survival in the unforgiving vastness of the Pacific Ocean against his psychological survival amidst adversity epitomizes the resilience of the human spirit. The novel forces readers to question their capacity for survival in the face of adversity and the extent to which faith can act as a refuge during challenging times.

Historical and cultural context

Enriched by its historical and cultural context, the novel tells the story of a young Indian boy named Pi Patel who survives a shipwreck and ends up stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The historical and cultural context adds depth to the story, highlighting the complexities of identity and the intermingling of cultures in a globalized world. 

The historical context of India’s colonial past and subsequent journey toward globalization contributes to the narrative. Pi’s family owns a zoo, and the animals symbolize the connection between humans and the natural world, impacted by colonialism and modernization. The zoo’s closure and Pi’s journey to Canada reflect India’s changing socio-economic landscape, influenced by both its colonial history and the forces of globalization. The novel’s context serves as a backdrop for fostering cross-cultural understanding and empathy.

Martel’s choice of language and writing style

Martel’s language in ‘ Life of Pi ‘ is a seamless blend of lyrical prose and vivid imagery that transports readers to the very heart of Pi’s journey. The author’s exceptional storytelling prowess keeps readers engaged, balancing the emotional intensity of the narrative with moments of philosophical contemplation. Martel’s ability to paint breathtaking visuals and evoke a sensory experience makes the journey palpable, captivating readers with the novel’s immersive nature.

Martel’s writing is enchanting, with vivid imagery that transports readers to the heart of Pi’s struggle for survival. The author seamlessly interweaves Pi’s day-to-day challenges with moments of introspection, delving deep into the complexities of the human psyche when faced with isolation, fear, and the primal need for sustenance. As readers witness Pi’s growth from a naive boy to a resourceful survivor, they are drawn into the emotional rollercoaster of his experience.

Life of Pi Review

Book Title: Life of Pi

Book Description: In this compelling narrative, Pi faces the ultimate test of survival while lost at sea, offering a profound exploration into the complexities of human existence. As he journeys through the perilous waters of the Pacific, the story challenges readers to undertake their own introspective voyages into life's great uncertainties.

Book Author: Yann Martel

Book Edition: First Edition

Book Format: Hardcover

Publisher - Organization: Knopf Canada

Date published: September 11, 2011

ISBN: 0-676-97376-0

Number Of Pages: 319

• Lasting Impact on a Reader

Life of Pi: An Exploration of Faith and Fortitude

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is a masterpiece that resonates with readers on multiple levels. The choice of characters, including the enigmatic Pi and the enigmatic Richard Parker, invites us to explore the depths of human nature and spirituality. Themes of survival, faith, and storytelling inspire profound contemplation, while Martel’s eloquent language immerses us in a world of wonder and introspection. The contextual intricacies add another layer of brilliance to the narrative, making Life of Pi a thought-provoking and unforgettable reading experience. This novel is a testament to the power of storytelling and its ability to enrich our understanding of the world and ourselves.

• Layered narrative with symbolism and allegory
• Compelling narration
• Exploration of a wide range of spirituality and faith
• Use of descriptive language
• Ambiguous end that leads to multi-layer understanding
• Lack of empathy
• Animal cruelty
• Complex use of symbols and language

About Mizpah Albert

Mizpah Albert is an experienced educator and literature analyst. Building on years of teaching experience in India, she has contributed to the literary world with published analysis articles and evocative poems.

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Yann Martel

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Yann Martel's Life of Pi . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Life of Pi: Introduction

Life of pi: plot summary, life of pi: detailed summary & analysis, life of pi: themes, life of pi: quotes, life of pi: characters, life of pi: symbols, life of pi: theme wheel, brief biography of yann martel.

Historical Context of Life of Pi

Other books related to life of pi.

• Full Title: Life of Pi
• Where Written: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
• When Published: 2001
• Literary Period: Contemporary Fiction
• Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism
• Setting: Pondicherry, India, the Pacific Ocean, Mexico, and Toronto, Canada
• Climax: Pi finds land
• Antagonist: The hyena/French cook
• Point of View: First person limited from both the “author” and the adult Pi

Extra Credit for Life of Pi

Richard Parker. Martel got the name “Richard Parker” from Edgar Allan Poe’s nautical novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. The name also appears in at least two other factual shipwreck accounts. Martel noticed the reoccurring “Richard Parkers” and felt that the name must be significant.

Zoo. The historical Pondicherry did have a zoo in 1977, but it lacked any tigers or anything larger than a deer.

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Movie Review: Life of Pi

CHECKLIST RATING: 4/5

REVIEWER: Pompy Bhowmick, BCom 2 nd Semester, Department of Commerce and Management, Tetso College

The movie ‘Life of Pi’ is a fictional story which is based on Yann Martel’s novel of the same name. This film was nominated for three Golden Glove Awards and also won Oscar prize. It has been rated as 7.9 out of 10 in IMDB.

This movie is an extremely brilliant and the best movie I have seen. The story has been divided into parts in which the visuals are expressed in an impressive way by featuring philosophical and spiritual themes. And the use of 3D effects are subtle and effective.

The movie begins with Pi and the writer which was sent by Pi’s uncle. Pi recounts his life story starting with how his name “Pi” was named. Pi’s full name was Piscine Molitor which was named after the swimming pool in France by his father. He was raised in a Hindu family who practices vegetarianism, but he believes and follows Christianity and Islam. In this part of the movie, the concept of spiritually has been beautifully shown. In the second half, there is a turning point in Pi’s life where his family has to move to Canada after selling their zoo in India. While travelling, there was a shipwreck which separated Pi from his family. The course of the movie takes over 227 days in a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal Tiger. Pi’s account of survival remains as the central piece of the movie.

The movie familiarizes the viewers with the attitude of Pi, the ungiven spirit and the ways to face the obstacles in the ocean for his survival. The screenplay was very creative and impressive for its engaging pace. And the reality which has been brought on the screen is quite remarkable.

On account of Suraj Sharma, the teenage Pi, who was a newcomer without any acting skills has done a commendable performance. While Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger was a digital creation which was completely realistic in view.

On the whole, this movie was a classic film where the director Ang Lee brilliantly highlights the powerful story of hope, faith, determination and spirituality.

Personally, I like this movie and I would like to recommend you to watch if you haven’t already.

CHECKLIST is a review column initiated by Tetso College that aims at giving students, reviewers and writers a platform to review and reflect upon books, movies, television shows, documentaries, magazines, restaurants and catering services, games, software, and product reviews. The reviews should be a reflective writing encompassing the writer’s opinions about the subject matter while avoiding unprecedented subjective bias. This is an unsponsored review column. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the Institution. Type your review in a Google Docs or MS Word document and email it to  [email protected] .

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The Life of Pi: book review (B1)

Seven million readers can’t be wrong. What makes The Life of Pi so special?

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first and then read the book review. If you find it too easy, try the next level. If it's too difficult, try the lower level. After reading, do the exercises to check your understanding.

Preparation

The book and its author.

The Life of Pi tells the story of Pi, a teenage boy from India, who finds himself trapped in a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a tiger. It is the third book by the Canadian author Yann Martel, and was published in 2001. It has sold seven million copies worldwide, won several prizes and been translated into 41 languages. Yann Martel is the son of a diplomat and spent his childhood in Costa Rica, Canada, France and Mexico. After finishing university in Canada, he spent two years travelling round India and then decided to be a writer.

At the start of the book, we learn about Pi’s childhood in Pondicherry in India. His father owns the city zoo and the family home is in the zoo. When they aren’t at school, Pi and his brother help their father at the zoo and he learns a lot about animals. Pi is very interested in religion. His family are Hindu, but he is curious about Christianity and Islam too and decides to believe in all three religions.

When Pi is 16, his parents decide to close the zoo and move to Canada. They sell some of the animals to zoos in North America and the family travel by ship to Canada taking the animals with them. On the way, there is a terrible storm and the ship sinks. Sadly, Pi’s family and the sailors all die in the storm, but Pi lives and finds himself in a lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orang-utan and an enormous tiger. At first, Pi is scared of the animals and jumps into the ocean. Then he remembers there are sharks in the water and decides to climb back into the lifeboat. One by one, the animals in the lifeboat kill and eat each other, till only Pi and the tiger are left alive. Luckily for Pi, there is some food and water on the lifeboat, but he soon needs to start catching fish. He feeds the tiger to stop it killing and eating him. He also uses a whistle and his knowledge of animals to control the tiger and show it that he’s boss.

Pi and the tiger spend 227 days in the lifeboat. They live through terrible storms and the burning heat of the Pacific sun. They are often hungry and ill. Sometimes, Pi finds comfort in his three religions, but sometimes he feels sad and lonely. Finally, they arrive at the coast of Mexico, but you will have to read the book to find out what happens in the end!

What do the reviewers think?

It’s a great book and I couldn’t stop reading it, but I didn’t want it to end either! As you read, you share Pi’s emotional journey through hope, despair, exhaustion, loneliness and joy. There’s one chapter where Pi sings 'Happy Birthday' to his mother on the day that he guesses is her birthday, even though he thinks she is dead. It’s a heart-breaking moment and it made me want to cry. Alex, 15

I found some sections of the book very boring and slow. For me, there were too many chapters without any action and just long explanations of Pi’s thoughts or his memories. Also, to be honest, I found the plot really unrealistic. I think the tiger would have eaten Pi straight away! Danny, 16

What a fascinating book! I enjoyed the story, but I also learnt a lot about animal psychology, religion and how to survive a shipwreck (you never know, it might happen to you one day!). I would recommend this book to anyone, old or young, men and women. It’s a good read! Paula, 18

Robin Newton

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