AFI FEST 2012
AFI Fest 2012: LIFE OF PI
WAMG was at the 2012 AFI-FEST Friday night for the screening of LIFE OF PI. Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain”; “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with another survivor… a fearsome Bengal tiger. The film is from the fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001 and was based on an adapted screenplay by David Magee (FINDING NEVERLAND).
Of all of Lee’s films, I’d have to say this was the most interesting. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it, but I really liked it. It was shot beautifully and the performance by Suraj Sharma (Pi) was stellar. One of the most attractive parts about the film is it’s international cast. A big plus to keep you within Pi’s world was to cut the previously shot scenes with Tobey Maguire as the writer who interviews the film’s young protagonist after he is discovered. Maguire is so well-known his appearance would’ve distracted from the experience.
After seeing the trailer I was skeptical about the CGI, but I have to say that it was almost seamless – very well done. Mychael Dann’s score is magnificent and a real triumph. Listen to it HERE.
The most interesting thing was the story. You come away having to decide for yourself what is real and what is not. I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile, and I like that. A huge nod to the work of production designer David Gropman, art directors Al Hobbs, Ravi Srivastava, James F. Truesdale and Dan Webster, and set decorator Anna Pinnock. The VFX and character animation from Rhythm & Hues Studios saturates the eyes and is pure magic.
That being said, what I didn’t embrace was the 3D. While it was groundbreaking, LIFE OF PI was another one of those movies where the 3D was totally unnecessary. It really detracted from Claudio Miranda’s beautiful cinematography. There were also parts where it dragged a little and made the overall running time of the film much longer than it needed to be. However Lee’s film should be viewed on the largest screen you can find for it’s massive scale and vast images. Overall I’d give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars and definitely recommend seeing it.
LIFE OF PI will be in theaters November 21st.
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