From 20th
Century Fox, the studio behind “Titanic” and “Avatar” comes an epic motion
picture that will allow audience to experience the grand spectacle of nature
and gasp at a young boy’s coming of age through disaster and salvation in “Life
of Pi” directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee.
Based on
the book by Yann Martel that has sold more than seven million copies and spent
years on the bestseller lists, “Life of Pi” takes place over three continents,
two oceans and a wide universe of imagination. Lee’s vision, coupled with
stunning 3D visuals, has turned a novel long thought un-filmable into a
thrillingly audacious mix of grand storytelling and powerful and provocative
themes.
“Life of
Pi” is Ang Lee’s first foray in 3D filmmaking starring newcomer Suraj Sharma
who takes on the titular role of Pi. The story revolves around Piscine
Patel, (known as Pi) who lives with his zoo keeping family in Pondicherry. They
decide to emigrate to Canada, taking their animals along with them and set off
on a huge freighter ship, steaming from India across the Pacific. But a
terrible storm destroys the ship. The family and most of the animals perish. Pi
survives, stranded on a lifeboat with several animals. Ultimately it is just Pi
and a Bengal tiger who miraculously survive 227 days at sea.
The two
castaways face unimaginable challenges, including nature’s majestic grandeur
and fury, which lash their small lifeboat. One particularly monstrous
storm becomes a spiritual experience for Pi, leading him to question God’s plan
for him. “I’ve lost everything! I surrender! What more do you
want?” Pi rails at the sky. But through it all, he never loses hope. Pi
finds joy from something as simple as an old survival manual, as well as from
the solace of the ocean’s beauty: the bioluminescent, rainbow hues of
magnificent schools of flying fish; the shimmering blues of the ocean’s swells;
and a radiant humpback whale that streaks to the surface of the ocean.
In
telling Pi’s story, Mr. Lee pushes the boundaries of cutting-edge motion
picture technologies. “Life of Pi” represents a moment when the science
and art of filmmaking have jumped forward, as it did with the visual effects of
“Titanic,” the 3D revolution of “Avatar,” and the CGI work in “Rise of the
Planet of the Apes,” which brought unprecedented emotion and depth to the
character of Caesar. And like Caesar, LIFE OF PI’s Richard Parker is a
fully-realized, accessible character, whom you’ll believe was actually on that
lifeboat with Suraj Sharma, who portrays Pi.
The
attention to detail throughout LIFE OF PI is also impressive. Production
designer David Gropman based Pi’s lifeboat “on archival drawings of a 1940s
steel life boat”. He commissioned Haan Lee (Ang Lee’s son) to design Pi’s raft,
that the character builds to separate himself from Richard Parker. ”I asked
Haan to imagine himself as Pi, using the materials he would have had on the
lifeboat: oars, life jackets, floorboards, etc. What Hann crafted was
amazing, a triangle with a circle in the middle, which was a beautiful
expression of ‘pi’.”
And
through Mr. Lee’s use of 3D, the audience will be with Pi and Richard Parker,
experiencing these extraordinary and visually stunning moments, immersed like
never before in an epic movie adventure interwoven with an emotional and
spiritual journey.
“Life of
Pi” opens January 9 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to
be distributed by Warner Bros.
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