![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ceagleI saw "Life of Pi" to get happy, but I'm not happy.
Well, noone clued me in about this movie. I don't mind spoilers actually.. they don't spoil things for me, having been partly in the world of cinematography and writing... these things actually entice me more to see how well something is rendered.
It's been on my list to see, since the news reviews have called it a visual spectacle, and by the dearth of reviews here, I didn't have much else to go on.
In the arena of spectacle, it does not really disappoint. It's nice staging and directing, good acting, great CGI, lots of superb technical aspects, but the crescendo sucks a lot of the wind out of you, if you let yourself wind up thinking about it.
They start out being very religious. And of course I wondered if this might be why I haven't found reviews here... or even heard references to that in the news. I don't care either way in movies, generally... could be religious, or could not. No prejudice there. The main character even goes on to suggest or outright say several times, "this will make you believe in God." The stage is set in a lot of ways by defining the main character is looking looking looking for belief, as such he explores a vast array of choices in his young years.
Then comes all the spectacle and magic and awe and excitement... even moving to near tears many a time. It's very well done for a shipwrecked-at-sea-how-do-we-spend-all-that-time movie.
And you get to where you think you are at the climax, and you're still riding the train, leaning forward, holding back tears, happy and sad at the same time. A nice wrap-up? One could hope...
But instead you are suddenly taken on a final diversion of ugliness, ... I kept wondering why... I kept trying not to pay attention... just listening for threads and wisps of it, so I wouldn't have to forget the splendor of what I just saw. Walking out of the theater.... driving home... there's no way to avoid it though..
They (counter to what they had said in the setup) were establishing every reason NOT to believe anymore... not to hope... To recognize their true undercurrent that everything really is just brutal dirt, brazen filth, and we're plain lucky just to get through any of it... for there really isn't anything to live for, except the stories we make up to obscure the grime of empty reality. They even miss a grand opportunity at the end to recapture hope, and come full circle with a clear statement that he found his lost love... but instead the wife and family are just grazed over... they could have been anyone. In fact, we never even find out what the guy does for a living. All we are given to know is his capacity for coping, via an incredible tale (a galapagos-esque island of cuddly yet edible meerkats??) to give any hints of his vocation or muse. And failing to note whether a tiger was ever discovered roaming on the beaches of Mexico (which would have been quite obvious) was the final 'tell' about which story to believe...
In summary: they set the stage to draw you in to Believe and Hope... and then pull the rug out from underneath at the end. Not a really great taste left in the mouth. You wind up wondering why you gave yourself to believe the last two hours. Well... for spectacle... I guess for that much it has some merit. After all, it's just a movie.
But in an exquisite last moment twist-or-discovery such as with "The Sixth Sense", or "The Matrix", the awe of realization is a fulfilling one that we experience with the story....
In this film, one feels as if having been strung along... watching something beautiful, then waking up in the back alley dumpster.
As a movie... I will at least say it was good.
But if you want a good feel-good movie.... see "Rise of the Guardians." ^v^
Well, noone clued me in about this movie. I don't mind spoilers actually.. they don't spoil things for me, having been partly in the world of cinematography and writing... these things actually entice me more to see how well something is rendered.
It's been on my list to see, since the news reviews have called it a visual spectacle, and by the dearth of reviews here, I didn't have much else to go on.
In the arena of spectacle, it does not really disappoint. It's nice staging and directing, good acting, great CGI, lots of superb technical aspects, but the crescendo sucks a lot of the wind out of you, if you let yourself wind up thinking about it.
They start out being very religious. And of course I wondered if this might be why I haven't found reviews here... or even heard references to that in the news. I don't care either way in movies, generally... could be religious, or could not. No prejudice there. The main character even goes on to suggest or outright say several times, "this will make you believe in God." The stage is set in a lot of ways by defining the main character is looking looking looking for belief, as such he explores a vast array of choices in his young years.
Then comes all the spectacle and magic and awe and excitement... even moving to near tears many a time. It's very well done for a shipwrecked-at-sea-how-do-we-spend-all-that-time movie.
And you get to where you think you are at the climax, and you're still riding the train, leaning forward, holding back tears, happy and sad at the same time. A nice wrap-up? One could hope...
But instead you are suddenly taken on a final diversion of ugliness, ... I kept wondering why... I kept trying not to pay attention... just listening for threads and wisps of it, so I wouldn't have to forget the splendor of what I just saw. Walking out of the theater.... driving home... there's no way to avoid it though..
They (counter to what they had said in the setup) were establishing every reason NOT to believe anymore... not to hope... To recognize their true undercurrent that everything really is just brutal dirt, brazen filth, and we're plain lucky just to get through any of it... for there really isn't anything to live for, except the stories we make up to obscure the grime of empty reality. They even miss a grand opportunity at the end to recapture hope, and come full circle with a clear statement that he found his lost love... but instead the wife and family are just grazed over... they could have been anyone. In fact, we never even find out what the guy does for a living. All we are given to know is his capacity for coping, via an incredible tale (a galapagos-esque island of cuddly yet edible meerkats??) to give any hints of his vocation or muse. And failing to note whether a tiger was ever discovered roaming on the beaches of Mexico (which would have been quite obvious) was the final 'tell' about which story to believe...
In summary: they set the stage to draw you in to Believe and Hope... and then pull the rug out from underneath at the end. Not a really great taste left in the mouth. You wind up wondering why you gave yourself to believe the last two hours. Well... for spectacle... I guess for that much it has some merit. After all, it's just a movie.
But in an exquisite last moment twist-or-discovery such as with "The Sixth Sense", or "The Matrix", the awe of realization is a fulfilling one that we experience with the story....
In this film, one feels as if having been strung along... watching something beautiful, then waking up in the back alley dumpster.
As a movie... I will at least say it was good.
But if you want a good feel-good movie.... see "Rise of the Guardians." ^v^
