April 28th: LIFE OF PI (Ang Lee, 2012)

An Indian teenager survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger.

French-Canadian Yann Martel's 2001 novel was an international bestseller (over 10 million copies sold) and winner of the prestigious Man Booker Prize. A film adaptation was quickly in the works, with various high-profile directors attached over the next 10 years, including M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuaron, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Eventually it wound up in the hands of Oscar-winner Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain).

An early decision was made to shoot the film in 3-D based on the abundance of water imagery. Lee was also interested in striking a balance between the novel's philisophical and religious themes and its adventure story, convincing the studio to greenlight the project with a series of custom paintings depicting how he would tell the story.

In Lee's home country of Taiwan, a giant water tank capable of holding over 1.5 million gallons was built on the site of an abandoned airport, and was where the majority of the production's shoot would take place. Additional locations included Montreal, Auckland, and various areas in India and Taiwan. Real-life shipwreck survivor Steve Callahan, who spent over 2 months on a lifeboat, was brought onboard as a technical advisor.

The character of Pi was played by four different actors (including veteran Irrfan Khan), and a casting call was put out for the role of the 16-year-old boy who takes up most of the screen time. Out of 3000+ applicants, Lee chose Suraj Sharma, who had no acting experience. The director took the boy under his wing, while putting him through intensive training both physical and mental. The remainder of the cast includes Indian actors Tabu and Adil Hussain, French actor Gérard Depardieu, and British actor Rafe Spall.

The cinematographer is Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), on only his fourth feature film (and first in 3-D),  joined on the crew by Lee's longtime editor Tim Squyres and musical score composer Mychael Danna (Moneyball).

In addition to the overall visual spectacle, the biggest technical hurdle was the Bengal tiger that shares the boat with Pi for much of the film. Digital effects company Rhythm & Hues spent over one year researching how to make the animal photorealistic. Using the small amount of footage shot with a real tiger for the film, the movements and appearance were matched to the smallest detail.

The film opened to mostly positive reviews, and was a box office success in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in China and India. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning for visual effects, the score, the cinematography, and Lee's direction (his second).

Running time is approx. 2 hrs.