“Life of Pi”, Does God Exists? Book Vs. Movie!

Synopsis:

“Life of Pi” Yann Martel’s 2001 best-selling novel, is a magical adventure story of a young boy, Pi Patel, son of Santosh Patel, a zoo owner living in Pondicherry, India. The family decides to move the zoo to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.

Painting: “The Bengal Tiger and Pi Patel in the Boat”, based on Yann Martel’s Magical Adventure “Life of Pi” Illustration by Vikram Roy © Copyright 2012

My Review:

Novel “Life of Pi“, and film director Ang Lee’s version seems, I never imagine its possible to combine the philosophy into the film screen.  The imagination through the novel was fantasy in my opinion when the film version is magically realistic. The use of modern highest resource of 3D technology is a merit of success achieved by the art-direction team, I salute. The film made me speechless even after it ends I was sitting and waiting to watch more and more. I was thinking where the digital entertainment is sailing the boat for the NextGen?

The movie contains good sense of humour regarding the dialogues. In market, Pi was following a girl he saw at the dance class. When she catches Pi and asked why he is following? Pi innocently asked at the dance class she ended two wrists joined loosely cupped hands, what does it mean, he wonders. The girl tells him, the lotus hides in the forest. Pi asked, “Why lotus will hide in the forest?”

At the end when Richard Parker, the bengal tiger left unceremoniously, Pi says, “All of life is an act of letting go but what hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.”

Is God exists? Book Vs. Movie: 

The narrator promises at the beginning that he will prove God exists. Well, in Yann Martel’s book he did, but in Ang Lee’s movie, did he or not?

The protagonist encounters a floating island of carnivorous algae inhabited by meerkats while shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean. At a book reading in Calgary, Canada, Martel explained that the carnivorous algae island had the purpose of representing the more fantastical of two competing stories in his novel and challenge the reader to a “leap of faith”.

Purana,consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction. It says, Vishnu lives in the ocean of milk with His companions. Photo: Hampi Museum by Shekhar Roy © Copyright 2012

In 2012 film “Life of Pi”, you see the floating island of vegetation with its own ecosystem that could be boarded and had animals living on it out in the middle of the ocean. It seems far-fetched, but does anything you notice in the movie?

Pi Patel’s confession of faith was regarding Lord Vishnu, the Vedic God who masters the past, present and future, the one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. Its called Vishnu sleeps in the ocean of milk with his companions. Did you see very carefully the structure of the floating  island? The moment Pi Patel and Richard Parker departs the floating island, the art-director shaped the island like sleeping Lord Vishnu. I was surprised to see the art work at a glance!

In my opinion the movie is a lifetime experience, so don’t miss the movie and as well if you did not read the book then read it too. “Life of Pi” is one of the remarkable walking art philosophy on the silver screen.

Morale: If belief is stronger than the faith, then self-strength will build you like a tiger!

Alternative Title : “Life of Pi”, The meaning of the floating algae island; is God exists?”

Medium of the Art-work: Water colour with added illustration,

Surface: Artist Paper

Size: A3

Read this review on  IMDb: http://imdb.com/title/life-of-pi

With love

Vikram