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Life of Pi

Play trailer 2:10 Poster for Life of Pi PG 2012 2h 5m Adventure Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 253 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
After deciding to sell their zoo in India and move to Canada, Santosh and Gita Patel board a freighter with their sons and a few remaining animals. Tragedy strikes when a terrible storm sinks the ship, leaving the Patels' teenage son, Pi (Suraj Sharma), as the only human survivor. However, Pi is not alone; a fearsome Bengal tiger has also found refuge aboard the lifeboat. As days turn into weeks and weeks drag into months, Pi and the tiger must learn to trust each other if both are to survive.
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Life of Pi

Life of Pi

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Critics Consensus

A 3D adaptation of a supposedly "unfilmable" book, Ang Lee's Life of Pi achieves the near impossible -- it's an astonishing technical achievement that's also emotionally rewarding.

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Critics Reviews

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Shubhra Gupta The Indian Express 03/22/2019
3.5/5
A boy, and a tiger, and a vast, endless ocean. Ang Lee makes a film out of material that seems almost unfilmable, and a lot of it is quite wondrous. Go to Full Review
Deborah Ross The Spectator 09/04/2018
While you are bathing in all the beauty, you are waiting and waiting and waiting for this film to say something, yet when it finally does... it all just feels empty somehow. Go to Full Review
Nick Pinkerton Sight & Sound 07/31/2018
Lee shows his hero's imperilled position as a mixed blessing. By tottering on the ledge of his mortality, Pi gains a front-row seat on the miracles of creation... All this is, in a word, Awesome. Go to Full Review
Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson Jul 20
5/5
The gravity and weight of that experience, even as fictionally parable and symbolic in nature as "Life of Pi" intended, is treated very well by Lee and never comes across as cheesy or overwrought whatsoever. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 09/21/2022
4/4
A marvelous piece of visual poetry with insights that require contemplation long after the visual awe has subsided. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/23/2022
3.5/5
The animation involved in bringing Richard Parker to life is something you just have to see. I was blown away. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jeff P. @jeffperu Nov 20 Life of Pi is an exploration of storytelling, faith, and the fragile boundary between reality and imagination. The narrative centers on Pi Patel, a young boy stranded at sea with a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck. What appears at first to be a literal survival tale gradually becomes a layered examination of perception, trauma, and belief. Across their journey, Pi and the tiger, named Richard Parker, form a reluctant coexistence built on necessity. Their shifting relationship represents both Pi’s physical struggle and the psychological framework he constructs to endure extreme isolation. The repeated confrontations with death underscore the idea that survival is as much spiritual and emotional as it is physical. The film complicates its realism most strikingly with the arrival at the carnivorous island. This mysterious oasis feels miraculous and threatening, pushing the viewer to question whether Pi’s narrative is factual or symbolic. Its beauty and impossibility introduce the film’s central ambiguity: where does truth end and constructed meaning begin? This ambiguity comes to a point when Pi recounts his story to insurance agents who refuse to believe him. He offers a second version, replacing the animals with human survivors, which the agents accept as the real story. The writer who hears both versions chooses the original, emphasizing the film’s argument that belief is often guided not by fact but by the story we want to be true. Visually, the movie is stunning. Its imagery heightens the story’s mythic undertones and reinforces the emotional scope of Pi’s ordeal. The dazzling presentation suggests that storytelling itself can transform suffering into something transcendent. At its core, Life of Pi argues that truth may not be singular; it can be subjective, shaped by need, faith, and perspective. While the film’s meditation on belief doesnt resolve with perfect clarity, its thematic richness and striking visuals leave a lasting emotional impact. 85/100 See more Lucas A Nov 18 Filme muito bom, adorei!! See more Darcy J Nov 9 A solid survival film, with great themes of family, religion and relationships between human and nature. The incredible cgi and beautiful cinematography truly elevate this from good to great! See more Blu B Sep 13 All Time Classic. Man if there is one thing about Ang Lee films is that when he is on, his cinematography is just about the best of any director out there. The cinematography is just....wow...just wow. This is like Golden Era Technicolor type stuff. The use and understanding of color in this is just incredible and makes every scene pop like a MGM musical. This is also probably the best 3D film I have ever seen. The scenes just naturally pop in a way that looks just asi incredible in 2D and doesn't feel like a gimmick. The 3D actually enhances things. I can count one hand the amount of movies that do that ever. Truly an incredible accomplishment. The lighting storm, the boat floating during the golden hour, the island, and tons more scenes are just incredible to look at. The special effects work is really good too. There are plenty of times it comes so close to looking real which is a big accomplishment. 65% of this film is Castaway/All is Lost type stuff with hardly anything happening and barely any dialouge. You could truly turn the sound off, put on your 3D glasses and be totally immersed without skipping a beat. Everything here is first rate. The underlying message at the end of the power of storytelling and faith is great and never on the nose but done in such a clever way. Pi himself is a phenominal character. So likeable, human, awkward, and couragous. This is an adventure combined with a coming of age story masterfully woven together. Not much happens in this movie and yet so much does. We see Pi grow into a survivor and become immersed in this beautiful journey of survival. It never feels jumpy at all and one event clearly leads to the next in a Jeremiah Johnson type of way. Everyone should give this a try once. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Aug 15 Success in 2 hours and 5 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $125,000,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Tyler S @tylerking24 Aug 13 It has been many years since I've seen this, and now that I can properly judge movies, I can say this is as good as I remember. A beautiful yet heartbreaking story that is told very well. Loved seeing the dynamic between Pi and Richard. See more Read all reviews
Life of Pi

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Movie Info

Synopsis After deciding to sell their zoo in India and move to Canada, Santosh and Gita Patel board a freighter with their sons and a few remaining animals. Tragedy strikes when a terrible storm sinks the ship, leaving the Patels' teenage son, Pi (Suraj Sharma), as the only human survivor. However, Pi is not alone; a fearsome Bengal tiger has also found refuge aboard the lifeboat. As days turn into weeks and weeks drag into months, Pi and the tiger must learn to trust each other if both are to survive.
Director
Ang Lee
Producer
Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
Screenwriter
David Magee
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Gil Netter, Haishang Films
Rating
PG (Peril|Emotional Thematic Content|Some Scary Action)
Genre
Adventure, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 21, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 31, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$125.0M
Runtime
2h 5m
Sound Mix
Dolby, SDDS, Datasat
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