A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
In Canada, a writer visits the Indian storyteller Pi Patel and asks him to tell his life story. Pi tells the story of his childhood in Pondicherry, India, and the origin of his nickname. One day, his father, a zoo owner, explains that the municipality is no longer supporting the zoo and he has hence decided to move to Canada, where the animals the family owns would also be sold. They board on a Japanese cargo ship with the animals and out of the blue, there is a storm, followed by a shipwrecking. Pi survives in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a male Bengal tiger nicknamed Richard Parker. They are adrift in the Pacific Ocean, with aggressive hyena and Richard Parker getting hungry. Pi needs to find a way to survive.Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The VFX studio "Rhythm & Hues" won an Academy Award for this film. This was two weeks after they declared bankruptcy. The main reason was that there were many substance changes without paying for the extra work. Ang Lee did not even mention the VFX team at the Oscars. Most of the work in this film was done by this team. There is also a short documentation about this, named Life After Pi (2014). See more »
Goofs
When Adult Pi is telling the story, the camera is reflected in his eyes. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Writer:
So, you were raised in a zoo?
Adult Pi Patel:
Born and raised. In Pondicherry, in what was the French part of India. My father owned the zoo, and I was delivered on short notice by a herpetologist, who was there to check on the Bengal monitor lizard. Mother and I were both healthy, but the poor lizard escaped and was trampled by a frightened cassowary. The way of karma, huh? The way of God.
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Crazy Credits
The opening credits have letters or words that react to action on the screen, such as the "Y" while a monkey is hanging on a branch. Also, there are words fluttering while the zebras swish their tails. See more »
Saw this the other night at the NYFF. Wow. It's an incredible film, a true cinematic achievement, possibly a classic and maybe will be the first 3D movie to break through and win the Best Picture Oscar. Some of the images were so beautiful that the audience gasped at many of them. I felt transported and like I was seeing a movie for the very first time. I haven't felt that sort of magic in a movie theater in a long, long time.
I read the book and liked it and the film may even improve upon it which is kind of a miracle considering it's kids, animals and water just about all the time. The spiritual themes are simple and deep and raise more questions about faith and belief than answer anything. No preaching going on here and there could be. Without giving anything away, it's a wonderful story about storytelling and how telling our stories can get us through the most horrible life experiences and to help deal with the aftermath of them.
It's an incredible film experience. Go see it!
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Saw this the other night at the NYFF. Wow. It's an incredible film, a true cinematic achievement, possibly a classic and maybe will be the first 3D movie to break through and win the Best Picture Oscar. Some of the images were so beautiful that the audience gasped at many of them. I felt transported and like I was seeing a movie for the very first time. I haven't felt that sort of magic in a movie theater in a long, long time.
I read the book and liked it and the film may even improve upon it which is kind of a miracle considering it's kids, animals and water just about all the time. The spiritual themes are simple and deep and raise more questions about faith and belief than answer anything. No preaching going on here and there could be. Without giving anything away, it's a wonderful story about storytelling and how telling our stories can get us through the most horrible life experiences and to help deal with the aftermath of them.
It's an incredible film experience. Go see it!