Life of Pi (***1/2)

Like Cast Away, much of this story is about a man stranded and alone, but instead of being American he is Indian, instead of an island he is on a small boat, and instead of a volleyball his only companion is a non-human predator called Richard Parker. Director Ang Lee and screenwriter David Magee’s (Finding Neverland) adaptation of the Yann Martel bestseller is faithful to the novel’s spirit, though it omits many details about how to survive alone on a lifeboat.

Perhaps unnecessarily, Lee preserves the novel’s structure — a grown man, in Canada, telling the story of his distant childhood in India, and then his perilous voyage, to a curious stranger — and adds frequently gorgeous visuals: shimmering skies, glowing seas, and pastel cityscapes suggestive of a fable. Pi’s is a story  “to make you believe in God,” the stranger has been told. Pi (played winsomely by newcomer Suraj Shjarma), the son of an atheist, himself subscribes to Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, and an element of spirituality runs through the movie, which can alternately be seen as a kind of magical realism. In some sense, both book and film draw a parallel between religious faith and storytelling, suggesting that the power of a good story is more important than certainty or literal truth. One need not agree to enjoy this existential story of adventure.

IMDb link

viewed 2/11/13 7:00 pm at Ritz East

Castaway on the Moon (***1/2)

This Korean gem may or may not be inspired by a similarly titled Tom Hanks film, but it has a unique approach with even more of a fable-like quality. Instead of an island in the middle of nowhere, the luckless hero winds up, after a botched suicide attempt, on an uninhabited islet in the Han River, in sight of the skyscrapers of Seoul. His calamity is also a refuge, and, in a way, unites him with a shut-in young woman on shore. The humor in the early part of the movie is slightly to the goofy side (there’s no talking with a volleyball, but something like that), but the conclusion is heartfelt. An American remake is planned.

IMDB link

viewed 11/8/11 [Netflix streaming] and reviewed 11/8/11