Ang Lee Works His Magic Once Again!

There are only two Canadian writers whose Booker-Prize-winning novels were adapted and made into movies. Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient not only won The Booker Prize in 1992, but the film, directed by the late Antony Minghella in 1996, also won nine Academy Awards. Now, French Canadian author Yann Martel's Man-Booker-Prize-winning Life of Pi (2002) will probably experience the same glory at the Oscars next February. Award-winning director Ang Lee (one of my favourites) once again works his magic behind the camera and, lo and behold, Life of Pi shot in 3D is such a visual feast!

Everything, good or bad, is beautiful and visually stunning in the movie - the storm, the zoo, the sky, sunset and sunrise, even the animal-kill-animal scenes. A lot of people and critics have juxtaposed this movie to Avatar in terms of visual and technological supremacy, but because I haven't watched James Cameron's movie, I cannot compare. I cannot simply imagine Life of Pi shot without 3D technology. How else can anybody capture the wonders of God's creation?

For somebody like me who never have any particular affinity or interest in wild animals or even pets, I'm in awe of all the animals, mammals, fish and birds in this flick, particularly the tiger. Ang Lee has disclosed in many media interviews that he has used four real Bengal tigers for the movie, but for most of the tiger shots on the lifeboat, they are CGI creations. Teenaged principal actor Suraj Sharma plays the 16-year-old Pi extremely well given that he has never had any acting experience prior to this movie. Apparently, he didn't even intend to go for the audition but accompanied his brother instead. At the end, Ang Lee picked Sharma out of 3,000 other teenagers.

But what's most intriguing about the movie is the faith of Pi in God. He's raised a Hindu, believes in Christ and practises Islam as well. To Pi, all three faiths can merge and co-exist as one. During Pi's struggle for survival, he constantly converses with God. The movie also has numerous metaphors relating to the Christian faith - Noah's ark immediately comes to mind.

Towards the end of the movie, we all draw our own conclusions as to what really happened during the shipwreck. But as a Canadian, I'm proud of Yann Martel's inspiring novel and the movie's location shoots in Montreal in addiiton to India and Taiwan. I'm even more proud of Chinese-American director Ang Lee, who, in his own modest yet confident demeanor, presented another accomplishment as a multi-talented director and artist. The enthusiastic applause from the audience indicates that this movie is not only a critics' favourite, but also a cinematic work of art appreciated by all.