The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
Ang Lee's Life of Pi opens 21 November 2012: USA, Canada, and--Taiwan
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on December 29, 2012, 04:05:32 pm ---Since Kerstin moved away, my daughter is my movie-partner. Today she visited a friend, then called in she will be late, they're seeing Life of Pi. I hope she likes it enough to see it a second time. Can't wait to hear her opinion.
--- End quote ---
It's a bummer to lose your movie-partner. My daughter dragged me to see Brokeback Mountain. It was her Christmas present to me in 2006. I miss her so much!
mouk:
--- Quote from: southendmd on November 26, 2012, 01:49:21 pm ---Lynne remarked on Ang's love of ambiguity, and it's no different in this film. The ending is just like in the book (don't let anyone spoil it for you), and includes a scene filmed in a stark white background. Sound familiar?
--- End quote ---
The familiarity of that ambiguous scene in a stark white background really struck me, then I wondered if my BBM obsession was taking me too far. So glad (and reassured) that 2 other brokies saw it with the same eyes!!
Penthesilea:
***SPOILER*** ***SPOILER*** ***SPOILER****
If you haven't seen the movie, skip this post. I'm not sure there will be spoilers, but just to be on the safe side. I don't want to cencor myself right now.
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on December 29, 2012, 04:20:58 pm ---I feel hopelessly inadequate to review this movie after seeing it yesterday, but I will plough forward anyway. I'm going to try to avoid spoilers as much as possible. The first question is, with the plethora of good movies out there right now, why choose Life of Pi? I'm sure Brokies can answer that quite easily, but I'll give some other more general reasons. First and foremost, Pi is a beautiful movie, revealing our watery Earth in all its glory as well as the full range of animals, fish and the single solitary man who becomes Adam in the story. (He also refers to himself as a modern-day Noah in his ark).
Secondly, Pi is a very satisfying adventure story with a bit of morality and spiritualism gently sprinkled in. It seems like the screenplay is hinting that Pi's early religious training and character development bolstered his inner strength, allowing him to survive in a boat with a tiger. That may be so, but I believe, and Pi also wrote in his journal that having a tiger as his travelling companion kept him alert and was the source of his strength as much as anything. There are many references to gods, symbols and events in various different religions, but they are not done in a heavyhanded way.
I'm told the movie respects and follows the story closely. Based on our experience with Lee's previous films, I beleive it. I once picked up the book and made it about a third of the way, but then I got distracted and never finished it. I will certainly do so now. However, I suspect the plot is rather straightforward in the story as it was in the book and the strengths lie in the character development. The movie also has the sheer spectacle of the ocean, the shipwreck, the special effects (including the tiger), and it will be interesting to see if the book conveys these as well.
One aside, the Bengal tiger is rendered mostly through CGI technology. I read that a real tiger was used for the swimming scenes. This made me laugh because the tiger in the water scenes were my favorite! The face of that big kitty as it paddled towards Pi was adorable, and yet terrifying as well. Could Richard Parker be the new jaws, LOL? It was ingenious to see how and whether Pi outwitted the swimming tiger and how or whether he safely got the tiger back in the boat.
I'll write more later and I also will write some of my more personal reactions in my blog, again trying to avoid spoilers other than what's in the trailer.
--- End quote ---
Just coming back from the theater. Saw the movie with both of my daughters (Hannah and her whole group accidently went into the wrong movie last week, can you imagine? :laugh:).
I've read your review again after seeing the movie and must say it's excellent!
Compliments to all my Brokie buds, you have a fine reception when it comes to movies (which doesn't come as a surprise of course).
--- Quote from: southendmd on November 26, 2012, 01:49:21 pm ---Lynne remarked on Ang's love of ambiguity, and it's no different in this film. The ending is just like in the book (don't let anyone spoil it for you), and includes a scene filmed in a stark white background. Sound familiar?
--- End quote ---
Oh yes, Paul and Mouk. Totally, totally made me think of the Twist house. And as second thought, I remembered that you both mentioned the same. :D
I loved the ambituity of the ending. Also a familiar Ang Lee trademark, as well as the beyond beautiful pictures.
--- Quote ---I even greeted the cat with "Hello, Richard Parker" this morning.
--- End quote ---
You landed a good one with this comment with my daughters! When we came home the cat sat in the kitchen and I bent down, petted him and said exactly the same thing, thinking of you. "Hallo Richard Parker"
The girls laughed and I credited you for the joke. :)
All in all I'm sure I will watch the movie again once it's on DVD. I don't have the desire to see it again in theater, but I've only had that once in my life. Other than BBM, I never go to the theater twice for the same movie (not to mention six or so times :laugh:).
One thing I also liked, but haven't seen mentioned so far (didn't read the whole thread) is the humor in it. Even if it's not much, it stood out for me. I have a thing for the absurd, and for absurd names and thus liked that the tiger was named Richard Parker and why.
And Gerad Depardieu as the cook! Even if he's a mean character, I absolutely loved how he reacted when being told Pi's family was vegetarian. Putting a snipped of green on the plate "Oh yes, vegetarian, I understand - here ya go" LOL. Yeah, what an asshole, but I loved the whole exchange.
Penthesilea:
***SPOILER*** **SPOILER***
Now this post will definitively contain a major spoiler. You are warned.
Two minor points of criticism; the first may be due to dubbing: When they're still in India, people talk German with a distinct Indian accent. Not the family when they're among themselves, but sometimes when talking to other people. Did they do the same in English?
It might be different for English, since it is widely spoken in India and probably with its own accent different from UK, USA, OZ, etc. But it doesn't make any sense to have Indians in India talking German with an Indian accent. ::)
The second one is a major spoiler, so this is your last chance to quit reading:
The Meercats ruined much of the ambiguity for me. I can accept much of the dreamlike stuff, but it stops with the Meercats. Maybe I'm strange that way. ;D
Meercats live in the dry areas of Southern Africa, and only there! Pi could not have encountered them on his odyssey. No effin' way. I can believe sweetwater turning to acid at night (barely, but of course the whole thing is parable like), I can believe a shipwrecked guy hallucinating, mixing reality and fantasy, I can believe the older Pi being simply a good storyteller by making it somewhat phantastic, etc.
But not the Meercats. They live in a different part of the world, in very much different surroundings (dry!) and in so much smaller groups (families). Everything about them was just - wrong.
And another small thing I noticed, no criticism though, something funny: older, storytelling Pi looks much like Jeff Goldblum. :laugh:
Front-Ranger:
Chrissi, in the US the characters spoke English with a British accent and some of the characters had a bit of the Indian lilt to their voices. I can rarely tell the difference between Indian English and British English, but their is a sing-song cadence to the former sometimes.
Didn't you love how being on the ocean was so eventful? It seemed like something was always happening. I've found that to be true in my sojourns in the mountains as well. Once you slow down your life you find out how much you are missing.
I didn't know meerkats only live in one dry place so that didn't throw me off the story. Come to think of it, I've only seen pictures of meerkats in sunny sandy places, but it didn't sink in.
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