Westhoff Reviews "Life of Pi"
By Jeffrey Westhoff
“Life of Pi”
*** 1/2
Rated PG: Emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril
Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Who’s in it: Irrfan Khan, Suraj Sharma, Rafe Spall, Gerard Depardieu
What it’s about: After a cargo ship carrying zoo animals sinks, the sole human survivor, a teenage boy from India (Sharma) must share a lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Nervousness ensues.
Verdict: Ang Lee’s best film since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is an astonishing work of cinematic art. It must be seen in 3-D, because Lee uses the process as part of the storytelling. This is both a classic survival and adventure tale, and a parable brimming with overt religious and philosophical themes. Just as David Lean highlighted the vastness of the desert in “Lawrence of Arabia,” Lee highlights the vastness of the sea. An awe-inspiring film despite a flatfooted attempt to spell out its symbolism in the final scene.
