Oscars: Life of Pi

(Lena Yang -- Graphics Artist)
(Lena Yang — Graphics Artist)

It was once thought that Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, was impossible to adapt to film, yet never one to shy away from a challenge, Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) produced and directed the film to great success. Announced earlier this year, Life of Pi earned an impressive 11 Oscar nominations, most notably in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. In terms of sheer awe for spectacle, the movie feels a lot like Avatar, whisking the viewer away to an unfathomable world at sea with colourful visuals that make the film viscerally astonishing.

The story revolves around Pi Patel, whose family is immigrating to Canada in order to find a more profitable market for their family zoo that they used to operate in India. Unfortunately, disaster strikes when a storm at sea capsizes their ship and Pi is left stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a lifeboat and a few animals that survived the storm. Woven through a series of flashbacks that occur during a conversation between an older Pi and a writer looking for new source material. Life of Pi tells a tale of finding yourself and faith in a circumstance where no such thing exists.
Not only does the film connect on a visual level, but on an emotional level as Pi proves to be a highly relatable character that struggles to understand who he is at a difficult point in his life. Look for Life of Pi to collect a few pieces of hardware when the Academy Awards finally arrive, it is not a movie to be missed.
RATING: 4/5

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