Best Picture Nominee - The Life Of Pi

This is the sixth of the nominee's for Best Picture, it is Directed by Ang Lee, formerly nominated for Best Director for Brokeback Mountain, and The Life Of Pi receives 11 Academy Award Nominations.

The story, based on the novel of the same name, focuses on Piscene or Pi, a young boy growing up in French India. His father, a zoo owner decides to move the family, and animals to Canada. As they cross the Pacific the ship sinks during a storm, Pi's family die, leaving him stranded on a life boat with a Bengal tiger called Richard Parker. Pi eventually survives 227 days at sea before reaching the Mexican shore. We find all this out as a retrospective, as Pi tells a writer (Rafe Spall) the story.

Acting wise we have four Pi's, aged 5 (Gautam Belur), aged 13 (Ayush Tandon), aged 16 (Suraj Sharma) who is the Pi we see shipwrecked, and Pi as the adult narrator (Irrfan Khan) who is telling the writer his story. Pi aged 16 is acted very well, full of wonder and emotion, the younger ones play great parts too, and the adult comes over as wise, yet still positive.

This movie is not about great acting, although it is here, it's not even about the technical wonder that is, but we will touch on that later. This movie is all about telling a story, and despite a rocky opening section (although necessary to build the story), it surpasses all expectations you have of it. You really end up routing for Pi, and Richard Parker too.

The technical merit of this movie is really astounding, it really is difficult to see where reality ends and CGI begins, its flawless, this combined with vibrant colors, 3D and wrapped up by a director synonymous with producing visually stunning movies. The sound is crystal clear, the cinematography mind blowing, and it just flows never leaving you wanting.

This is one of those movies that you would put of seeing, because it isn't really your thing, and then watch on TV years later and love it, regretting not seeing it as it was supposed to be seen, on the big screen. Ang Lee has produced a masterpiece, and yes its all technical wizardry, but if you look just beyond all that you have a great story of hope, looking on the bright side and even religious tolerance.

Before I watched this movie, i thought it had no chance of winning any Oscars, and it still may not win the main ones, but it deserves to win all of its technical categories.