The Life of Pi (5 Stars)

What is better? A story that makes you believe in God? Or a story that makes you despair in the existence of good in the world? That's the question that the film's director Ang Lee asks us, the same question asked by Yann Martel, the author of the book on which the film is based. I haven't yet read the novel, but after watching the film today for the second time I feel an urge to do so. It's rare that watching a film inspires me to read a book. Usually I feel that the film has "said it all". A few times I've read a book first and seen the film later, for instance "Lord of the Rings", "Queen of the Damned" and "The Final Programme". But I can only think of two books that I read after watching a film, namely "The Name of the Rose" (Umberto Eco) and "He who fears the wolf" (Karin Fossum). I was extremely impressed with Umberto Eco's book, because it went a lot deeper than the film of the same name, spending whole chapters in lengthy theological discussions that are only mentioned in the film in passing. Karin Fossum's book disappointed me, because the film "Cry in the Woods" isn't an exact retelling of the story, it just uses the skeleton of the book and heads off in a different direction.

"The Life of Pi" must be one of the most beautiful films ever made, visually and philosophically. It was nominated for 11 Oscars in 2013, of which it won four. Not enough. It's a far better film than "Argo", but I can understand why "Argo" won the best film award: it was more politically relevant, and provided a better background for Michelle Obama's appearance. She would have been out of place presenting an award to a deeply philosophical film.

For those who haven't yet seen it, here is the film's plot. I know that it contains partial spoilers, but in a film like this it doesn't matter. Piscine Molitor Patel, called Pi for short, is a boy who was born in French India. His parents owned a zoo. He was brought up in the Hindu faith, but during his youth he also became a Christian and a Moslem, because he thought that the three religions showed three different sides of God that complemented each other. At the same time he educated himself in rationalist streams of philosophy, including existentialism. When he is 16 his father decides that the family should move to Canada, taking the animals with them. On the way the ship sinks in a storm, and Pi climbs into a lifeboat accompanied by a few animals. After a few fights only one of the animals survives, a Bengal tiger. At first Pi feels threatened by the tiger, but as time progresses he manages to tame him so that they can co-exist in a small space. Together they spend 227 days at sea. When they finally land in Mexico the tiger leaves the boat and enters the woods without looking back.

When questioned by the Japanese shipping company the investigators don't believe Pi's story. To help them he tells them a different story, in which he entered the lifeboat with his mother, the ship's cook and a Japanese sailor. In fights over the next few days the cook killed the sailor and Pi's mother, so Pi killed the cook, and spent the rest of the 227 days alone.

So which story is true? The film's message is that it doesn't matter. What matters is which story is the better story. Which story can make a person believe in God? The 227 days at sea are Pi's spiritual journey. Pi had to learn that to survive he had to abandon religious formalities, such as the vegetarianism required by strict Hinduism. The tiger is interpreted by other reviewers as Pi's image of himself, but it's more accurate to say that it represents God. Pi had to make peace with God on his journey. Of particular significance is the floating island that Pi discovers shortly before the end of his journey. The island provides everything Pi needs, including food -- vegetarian food -- and water. But then he realises that the island is only offering false security and will ultimately destroy him. This is spiritual death, the ultimate result of comfort and ease. He decides to abandon the island, taking with him only the bare essentials he needs to survive, and continues on his journey. When he reaches his goal, the Mexican coast, the tiger leaves without looking back. This signifies God's silence. In past times God was close, such as the incident when Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32), but now we no longer see Him and have to rely on faith.

Of course, my spiritual interpretation of the film only scratches the surface. More details will become apparent if you watch it repeatedly. It isn't a film to watch only once, it's a film to watch many times.