jonnyb Posted January 11, 2013 Posted January 11, 2013 **SPOILER** - DON'T READ THIS IS YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE/BOOK Hi, I went to see life of Pi in 3D last week, and I have to say it was the best cinematic experience I have had so far. The ending gave much to think about, and I'd love to know what others thought about it. Anyway, here is my simplistic take: The 'human' story was the real one, and the 'animal' story was a more bearable version to help Pi cope with the harsh reality. Even the writer and the interviewers at the end chose to accept the animal story. 'And so it is with God,' says Pi, indicating that religion/faith is a story that we chose to believe in because it makes the trials of life more bearable. Pi was a follower of 3 different religions so would have known that each of them could not be true, but he made a choice to commit to them because faith in itself was of some benefit to him. The tiger represented Pi's 'animal' side, which came out when he killed the cook. He spent the rest of the journey, perhaps, being 'tamed' - by God? One thing i'm thinking about is him mentioning the good lessons his father taught him. the lessons i can think of were - showing him the reality of the tiger's nature, that it is a killer and any soul he sees in its eyes is a reflection of himself (i'll have to think about this some more - and perhaps there is a connection with the tiger not looking back at him at the end). the other lesson would be to use reason in life, and his father's negative attitude to religion. but if this was an important lesson - why did Pi choose the faith route? Anyway, hope a few people have seen it and would like to comment! Jonny Quote
glintofpewter Posted January 12, 2013 Posted January 12, 2013 The film is a visual feast. I don't think one story is told instead of the other. One story is told first and the other second. One experiences the second first. The viewer works backwords. It would be an interesting story to weave the two together. Dutch Quote
soma Posted January 12, 2013 Posted January 12, 2013 I read the book, but didn't see the movie. I agree with your observations completely. I think it is like a parable and there our different interpretations. I like what you wrote. Quote
JosephM Posted January 12, 2013 Posted January 12, 2013 johnnyb, I read a synopsis of the plot only and found it most interesting and challenging. I would be interested in seeing the movie. Thanks for mentioning it. Joseph Quote
jonnyb Posted January 13, 2013 Author Posted January 13, 2013 definitley one to see, Joseph - and see it in 3D! i wasn't convinced about 3D but this movie has won me over! Jonny Quote
JosephM Posted January 31, 2013 Posted January 31, 2013 Saw the life of PI in 3D last night. Authors summary... * Life is a story * You can choose your story * God is a shorthand for anything greater than the material ... any greater pattern of meaning Joseph Quote
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