3.5 stars. Rating: PG, for dramatic intensity and scary images; young viewers may find it much too frightening
By Derrick Bang
Lyrical novels recounted by a
sole narrator are notoriously difficult to translate into movies; the
work-arounds designed to impart essential information can be clumsy, and we
always lose the rhythm and sweep of the author’s prose.
 |
| Although he has survived a shipwreck, Pi (Suraj Sharma) finds that he is far from safe, because his lifeboat has been commandeered by a ferocious tiger ... whose appetite forces the young man to construct a "raft" from stray bits of survival equipment. |
Factor in a substantial religious
element, as the protagonist grapples with his concept of God, and the task
becomes well-nigh impossible.
Director Ang Lee and scripter
David Magee therefore deserve considerable credit for the care they’ve taken
with Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. While
the film is far from perfect, Lee shrewdly employs all manner of cinematic
ingenuity to convey this story’s blend of surreal whimsy and harsh deprivation,
along with an exotic, at times supernatural atmosphere that strongly evokes
portions of Slumdog Millionaire.
Claudio Miranda’s cinematography
deserves considerable credit as well, in terms of adding to this saga’s aura of
mystery and magic realism. You’ll be moved to awe more than once, starting with
the first things we see: simple establishing shots of animals at play in a
small zoo in Pondicherry, India. This montage suggests a cheerful innocence
that speaks volumes, and belies events to come.
Or my favorite shot: a sharply
focused glimpse of bathers relaxing in lounge chairs at the edge of the Piscine
Molitor swimming pool in Paris, France. Only when a swimmer cuts across our
field of vision, do we realize that we’ve been observing all these people
through water: proof of the pool’s crystal clarity.
Borrowing a leaf from Martel,
whose book unfolds as if it had been told to him by its subject, Magee begins
this narrative by introducing us to an adult Pi Patel (Irrfan Khan), whose comfortable
life in Toronto, Canada, is pleasantly interrupted by an expat American writer
who — at the suggestion of a mutual acquaintance — has traveled all the way
from India to meet him.
Patel, our writer is told, is a
man with a story. Patel readily acknowledges this claim, adding that his saga
will demonstrate proof of God’s existence. This is a tantalizing assertion, and
a simple statement that could be ruined if improperly scripted or shaded. But
Khan’s utter sincerity is evident in the actor’s every expression and gesture;
we — and the visiting writer – can’t help being intrigued.
Their relationship thus
established, Patel is free to narrate his story, which (for the most part)
removes the awkwardness of the voice-over device used from this point forward.
The subsequent tale therefore unfolds as a lengthy flashback.
or 
— Seven Days in Utopia actually is concerned with an entirely different sort of spirit.
; he scored some respectable mainstream attention with 2008's 
... in part because of star Kirk Cameron's name visibility. (The film itself, sadly, was simply too shamelessly solemn and sincere to be taken seriously.)
— certainly wears its virtuous heart on its sleeve. Even at his most frustrated, Luke never loses his good manners; he's unfailingly polite to all the kind folks he meets in Utopia, as they are to him.