Pi Patel loves stories. Luckily so, because after a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean, he needs one to help him survive 227 days at sea. His only companion: Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger just as desperate as he is. PLEASE NOTE: this film will be shown in the Pluktent (not in the open air). UPDATE: This screening in the tent is sold out in the presale. Last minute tickets may still be available on site (not guaranteed).
Ang Lee’s Life of Pi begins as a simple survival tale but gradually becomes something far more complex. The question isn’t so much if Pi survives — we see him recounting the story as an adult — but how he makes it through, and which truth he chooses.
Lee presents Pi’s odyssey as a dreamlike nightmare. The ocean is both stunning and lethal: bioluminescent fish glowing at night, flying fish skimming across the waves, but also endless emptiness and hunger. Suraj Sharma plays Pi with a vulnerability that’s especially striking, given he’s alone on screen much of the time, speaking to a tiger that wasn’t actually there during filming.
It’s a technical marvel, shot in water tanks with digital effects so convincing you forget it wasn’t filmed at sea.
But Lee doesn’t use the technology for its own sake. He crafts a world where faith and reality blend into one another.
Because ultimately, Life of Pi is about the power of storytelling. In the end, Pi offers a second version of his survival — no tiger, far grimmer, more human. Which version is true? Lee doesn’t say. He suggests that the more beautiful story may matter more than the literal truth.
This is a film that works on many levels: as a thrilling adventure, a philosophical meditation, and a story about how we make sense of trauma. Lee keeps all these elements gracefully in balance.
Please note: this film is part of the Film in de Pluktent programme. Screening starts at 19:15. Ticket: €6.
