DVD Review - Life of Pi (2012)

Another new film in the Information Store’s collection is the award winning Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee and starring Suraj Sharma in the title role.  Based on the novel of the same name by Yann Martel Life of Pi chronicles the adolescence of a young boy called Pi and a dramatic, life changing event which results in him drifting on a boat across the ocean with a tiger as his only companion.

The tiger, Richard Parker, had once belonged to his father’s zoo which was being moved, by boat, to a new location. The boat was caught in a huge storm and sunk; Pi found a lifeboat in which to save himself and soon discovered that underneath the tarpaulin was the vicious Bengal, Richard Parker.  The following few weeks would be an emotional and physical struggle as the two drifted further and further out to sea willing to be rescued. The hostility of Richard Parker meant that Pi had to build his own flotation device which trailed next to the boat in order to keep himself safe. Pi fed and looked after Richard Parker from afar and the two developed a respect for each other that meant Pi no longer feared being eaten by the beast. Their journey for survival is a constant battle as fierce storms, starvation and utter hopelessness taint their hopes of ever being found. 

The tiger’s name, Richard Parker, comes from several characters through fiction and history. In 1884, a young cabin boy on board the yacht Mignonette was eaten by his crew by means of their survival, his name was Richard Parker. As was the name of another young seaman sacrificed on board the Francis Speight in 1846 which floundered and he was thrown overboard to prevent the lifeboat capsizing. Finally, in the Edgar Allen Poe novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Richard Parker is a mutinous young sailor who suggests they cannibalise one of their own crew after their ship the Grampus capsizes in a storm. After drawing lots on Parker’s suggestion, it is he who ends up being eaten by the crew. Will the tiger fall to the same fate, will Pi eat him to maintain his own survival? 

While the story being told is an epic tale of adventure, self-discovery and survival it is also riddled with morals and Indian folklore. It is also an absolutely spectacular feast for the eyes as the vast, sweeping ocean is brought to life by Ang Lee’s direction.  More impressive is the tiger itself which was created entirely through motion capture and advanced CGI technologies and looks like a real tiger. If I didn’t know it was CGI I would have been harping on about how well trained the tiger was, it was that realistic. Luckily I did my research. 
 

 

However, despite the amazing special effects, the epic story and beautiful CGI tiger I couldn’t get over how awful an actor Suraj Sharma was. I had high hopes for whoever was chosen to play Pi especially after being so invested in the book when I read it, I was so disappointed in the result. I found him to be annoying, over dramatic and his performance felt forced and unnatural. So much so, I would go as far to say he completely ruined the film for me. Richard Parker completely stole the show and he wasn’t even a real tiger, that’s how bad Sharma was.

Be that as it may, it is an amazing film to watch and a spectacular achievement for Ang Lee who scooped the Oscar for Best Director that year. Sharma wasn’t even nominated, surprise surprise.

Further Reading in the Information Store:

Life of Pi - DVD ZONE - 791.43 L

Life of Pi - BOOK ZONE - 823.91 MAR

Visual Effects for Film and Television by A.J Mitchell - BOOK ZONE - 791.45024 MIT

Movie Special Effects by Liz Miles - BOOK ZONE - 791.43024 MIL

More Summer Reads!

Included on the display this week are a few more tantalising titles for you to sink your teeth into over the remaining summer weeks...

Salt by Jeremy Page

In 1945 a German airman falls from the sky and lands in a salt marsh in England. He is discovered by a woman who takes him into her home and after staying with her for nine months, leaves her with a new born child, Lil. Lil grows up and has a child of her own, Pip, who is determined to piece together his family’s strange and intriguing history all the while dealing with the dramas of his own life.

 

Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming

Sebastian Faulks picks up where Ian Fleming left off right in the midst of the Cold war, continuing the never ending James Bond saga. An Algerian drug runner is brutally murdered in the suburbs of Paris. Bond is assigned a new mission, to follow Dr Julius Gorner, a powerful pharmaceuticals expert who has a thing for legal and illegal opiates. As always, Bond is accompanied by a beautiful woman wielding a pistol and the two must work together to save the world from global catastrophe.

 

A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam

The story begins as a mother is throwing a party for her two children, she is happy with her life having raised a beautiful family and building a stable home for them. However, it is 1971 in East Pakistan and the country is on the brink of the Bangladeshi War on Independence, a fight that will dramatically change her family’s lives for ever. It’s a story of revolution, sacrifice, hope and love as one woman is pushed to the edge as she tries to keep her family safe.

 

 The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall

Cy Parks is an artist who’s favoured medium is the human body. He abandons his mother’s seaside hotel which is crumbling to the ground and embarks on a new life in the vibrancy of Coney Island which is bursting with carnival decadence. He finds his muse in a beautiful woman who lends her body to him and his work, her soul is deep and rich and he plunges himself into the life surrounding this enigmatic young woman.

 

Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick

Based on the true story of Arthur Ransome, this historical story is told as a fairy tale with Kings and Queens, Princesses and enchantresses as well as magic, wonder and the fantastical. The story is of a man accused of being a spy during the Russian Revolution, the story fictionalises the Bolsheviks rise to power and the controversies surrounding its leaders like the haemophiliac Alexei, Rasputin and the terrifying Lenin and Trotsky.

 

Further Reading in the Information Store

As well as the above listed books, we have many others on the display including some of our new DVD's like Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook and the Twilight box set!

Come and have a browse! 

 

DVD Review - Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

 

David O Russell’s superb film Silver Linings Playbook graced our screens and enchanted our hearts back in 2012 and through generous backing from producer Harvey Weinstein earned itself a great reputation and a bundle of awards to boot, including an Academy Award for Jennifer Lawrence as Best Actress.

The story is about Pat (Bradley Cooper) who has just been released from a psychiatric hospital for attacking his wife’s lover after he found them romantically entwined in his bathroom, Pat has bipolar disorder and he has to see a therapist every week as part of the terms of his release. He returns home and is greeted by his father (Robert De Niro) who also shows signs of having a mental disorder, although this is never actually pinned down to specifics. Pat learns that his wife, Nikki, has moved away yet is still desperate to pick their marriage back up again, delusional to the fact his relationship is completely over. Along the way he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a sufferer of depression who was diagnosed when her husband, Tommy, died. 

She makes a deal with Pat that she will deliver letters to Nikki for him if he agrees to be her dance partner for an upcoming dance competition.  A couple of letters pass hands and Pat thinks that a reconciliation with Nikki is on the cards. A racially fuelled brawl at football match lands Pat in trouble and his Father in a pile of debt, hope for his family lies entirely on the dance competition with Tiffany, with Nikki in attendance things start to heat up as they both take to the dance floor. With the sounds of The White Stripes ringing out and enough gyration to make Elvis’ head spin, will they reign victorious?

As serious as the subject matter of bipolar disorder may be, Silver Linings Playbook manages to keeps its head above the water without plunging into a swell of depression. The friendship of Pat and Tiffany is at times hilarious, while at others heart wrenching and their story is encapsulating from start to finish. Pat has some painfully honest personal moments which are short, sharp stabs of realism that bipolar disorder is a serious and unrelenting problem suffered by millions.

Beautifully acted and wonderfully directed, Silver Linings Playbook is a real treat from start to finish and every award and nomination well deserving.  It manages to dip into the subject of mental health while simultaneously sculpting an unconventional love story, throw in a bit of wacky dancing and illegal gambling and you’ve got yourself some pretty excellent entertainment.

 

Further Reading in the Information Store:

Silver Linings Playbook by David O' Russell - DVD ZONE - 791.43 S

Bipolar Disorder: Your Questions Answered by Neil Hunt - BOOK ZONE - 616.895 HUN

The Pits and the Pendulum: A Life with Bipolar Disorder by Brian Adams - BOOK ZONE - 616.895 ADA