First Look at Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pi’ Movie: Man & Tiger on a Boat

During the seven years that’ve passed since Ang Lee won an Academy Award for directing Brokeback Mountain, the Taiwanese filmmaker has been operating well below the average moviegoer’s radar – making films like the steamy WW II espionage drama Lust, Caution and the hippie-centric dramedy Taking Woodstock. That should change this December, with the release of Lee’s 3D Life of Pi adaptation.
Life of Pi is based on Yann Martel’s popular (and decorated) 2001 novel. At different stages during its development, people like Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men), Jean-Pierre Jeanet (Amélie) and M. Night Shyamalan were either loosely attached or expressed an interest in overseeing the project. In case you couldn’t tell, Life of Pi definitely counts as “prestigious” (Oscar bait?) material.
The central narrative thread in Life of Pi concerns the experiences of Piscine Molitor Patel (played by newcomer Suraj Sharma), an Indian teenager with an unusual perspective on spirituality (he follows the Hindu, Christian, and Muslim faith) whose father runs a zoo. Due to the mockable nature of his name – which is pronounced similar to “pissing” – Piscine ends up taking on the shorter nickname “Pi.”
Eventually, Pi and his family decide to travel overseas to Canada, due to the political climate in India. However, the ship carrying their animals (and Pi) unexpectedly sinks, stranding the young man aboard a life boat with a handful of wild animals as his companions – including, a Bengal tiger dubbed “Richard Parker.”
If the above image from Life of Pi looks somewhat artificial and painterly (like imagery from a Tarsem Singh film such as The Fall or Immortals), well, that’s both fitting and probably intentional.
To explain: a different section of Martel’s Life of Pi novel revolves around an older Pi (Amazing Spider-Man‘s Irrfan Khan, a.k.a. Irrfan) telling his mind-boggling tale of survival to a couple of Japanese maritime employees, who are trying to determine the truth about the shipwreck Pi was involved in. Eventually, Pi presents an alternative, “more realistic” version of his original, dreamlike (thematically and visually) story.
As you’ve surely picked up, Life of Pi deals with some heady concepts about the nature of faith and how our personal beliefs shape the very way we perceive the world around us. Considering the talent – including Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Magee (Finding Neverland) – and technology involved in bringing Martel’s mystifying novel to cinematic life, this is one flick that any film geek worth their salt should keep an eye on.
Life of Pi is scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. on December 21st, 2012.

Director Ang Lee praises Suraj Sharma's work in 'Life of Pi'

New Delhi-based Suraj Sharma makes his acting debut in Life of Pi. The movie is directed by Ang Lee, who hand-picked Suraj to play Pi.
Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, who zeroed in on Indian child actor Suraj Sharma as the lead for his forthcoming movie Life of Pi, says the teenager has given an emotional performance and hopes the movie remains talked about for a long time to come.
"I met him (Suraj), I tested him, and he held his breath for 20 seconds. So I got him a swimming coach, work-out coach -- every coach," Lee said here at the launch of the film's first look.
"He gives an emotional performance in a movie that has the look of a family film, but it's also a movie about big ideas. I hope people will spend weeks talking about it -- that's my idea of a family film," added the director who won the best director Oscar for his film "Brokeback Mountain".
New Delhi-based Suraj Sharma, 17, makes his acting debut with the movie. He plays Pi, who finds himself on a cargo ship with his family and a slew of zoo animals when a storm begins to rage in the middle of the night.
The young man rushes to the ship's deck to witness the intense weather first-hand when he ends up being thrown overboard and into a lifeboat with a zebra and a Bengal tiger.
"Life of Pi" is based on Yann Martel's book of the same name, and has been shot in 3D.
"It's unfinished! When you see the movie, it will be a lot more moving," he said post the showcase of the first look.
The "Brokeback Mountain" filmmaker also said being compared to directors like James Cameron and George Lucas, two directors who appeared along with Lee in a promo reel screened at the event, made him uncomfortable.
"To be honest with you, I like to be modest," the 57-year-old said.
"I would like people to get surprised about my work, instead of it being over-hyped. That's what I'd be more comfortable with. But it's a big picture. I have to go with the flow," he added.
"Life of Pi" also features another Indian actor -- Ayush Tandon. While Ayush plays the child version of Pi in the movie, Suraj plays the teenaged Pi.