life of pi movie review

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Common sense media reviewers.

Beautiful, emotional, intense story of faith and friendship.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Strong themes of the power of faith, friendship, p

Pi survives against the strongest possible odds, f

Several very intense sequences with lots of action

Mild flirting between a teenage couple; women in s

A few uses of "pissing," mostly said by other boys

Positive Messages

Strong themes of the power of faith, friendship, perseverance, and the ability to let go. As a boy, Pi looks for meaning/comfort in many religions, ultimately embracing different aspects of several of them. His faith is tested many times over the course of the movie, but he holds tight to it. The idea that faith involves thinking and questioning, rather than blind acceptance, is put forward. Pi and Richard Parker develop a relationship that sustains both of them, unusual as it might be.

Positive Role Models

Pi survives against the strongest possible odds, facing down vicious storms, hungry animals, and self-doubt. His faith sustains him through much of what he faces; he's also determined, hardworking, and resourceful, and he cares deeply about his fellow creatures. His father encourages Pi to think critically and question the way things are: "I would rather have you believe in something I disagree with than accept all things."

Violence & Scariness

Several very intense sequences with lots of action, peril, and emotional impact. (Possible spoiler alerts!) Pi loses his family when their ship violently sinks during a raging storm at sea (huge crashing waves, chaos, etc.); he sees the eerie, doomed sunken ship under the water. Later, another terrible storm nearly costs him and Richard Parker their lives. Zoo animals confront, kill, and eat each other at very close quarters; a little blood is shown, and the scenes are upsetting. Richard Parker frequently growls, snarls, charges, and roars at Pi, which could scare younger children. Pi is very upset after he kills a fish for Richard Parker to eat, sobbing at the idea of having taken a life. Early in the movie, Pi's father makes him watch Richard Parker eat a goat (nothing graphic shown) as a lesson in the nature of wild animals. Some yelling/confrontations. Pi finds something very unsettling on a peculiar island.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Mild flirting between a teenage couple; women in swimwear.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

A few uses of "pissing," mostly said by other boys making fun of Pi's full name, Piscine. "Curry eaters" is said as an insult.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Life of Pi is an intense, emotional story of survival and triumph against the odds, with themes of faith, friendship, and perseverance. Although it's rated PG, and there's virtually no strong language, sexual content, or blood, this adaptation of Yann Martel's bestselling novel has several very harrowing (especially in 3-D) scenes of storms, shipwrecks, the possibility of implied cannibalism, and zoo animals threatening humans and confronting, killing, and eating each other -- all of which are likely to be too much for younger children (as are the themes of allegory and mysticism, which will require thoughtful parental explanation). Pi is in near-constant peril throughout the story (though it's told as a flashback, so you know he'll survive) and, after losing his whole family, he must negotiate sharing a very small space with a large, unpredictable tiger (one of Pi's tactics involves peeing on part of the lifeboat they share). But through it all, he remains determined and optimistic, relying on his strong faith to see him through every challenge he must face. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

Parents say (41)
Kids say (88)

Based on 41 parent reviews

Totally harrowing for under 14, I disagree with CSM here

Powerful, beautiful, what's the story.

Growing up in India, young Piscine "Pi" Patel (played by Ayush Tandon) is a thoughtful boy who finds himself curious about God in all of his many forms. The strong, if unusual, hybrid faith that he develops serves teenage Pi (played impressively by Suraj Sharma) well after -- spoiler alert ! -- he loses his whole family when their ship sinks during a terrible storm and he finds himself adrift on a lifeboat with four zoo animals: a wounded zebra, an aggressive hyena, a friendly orangutan, and the large, unpredictable tiger known as Richard Parker. Eventually just Pi and Richard Parker remain, and together they must figure out how to stay alive on the open ocean.

Is It Any Good?

LIFE OF PI is a beautiful, emotionally resonant tale of faith, friendship, and perseverance. A runaway bestseller when it was published in 2001, Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi was long considered by many to be unfilmable. After all, one of the two main characters is a tiger, who spends much of the story in close quarters with a teenage human. In the middle of the ocean. But director Ang Lee , who is nothing if not unpredictable himself, has proven any remaining naysayers wrong in spades.

It looks absolutely gorgeous -- like James Cameron did in Avatar , Lee uses 3-D to make the world of Life of Pi an immersive, almost tactile place, from the hummingbirds that flit toward your face to the enormous waves that bear down on you during the intense storm sequences. The CGI is equally impressive; while intellectually you know that it would be next to impossible to get a tiger to do the things that Richard Parker does, there are moments when his fur ripples so realistically that you'd swear he's 100 percent real. While some of the story's twists and themes will probably have more impact on those who haven't read the book, there's no denying that Life of Pi is a powerful movie that's just as likely to make you think as it is to make you shed a tear or cheer in triumph.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about which version of Pi's story they think is true. Why do you think that? Which one do you think the movie wants you to believe?

What is the movie saying about faith? Is it necessary to be religious to be faithful? (Or vice versa?) How is Pi's faith tested?

How does the movie depict Pi's many losses? Do you think you could overcome the challenges he faces? How do his experiences change him as a character?

If you've read the book, how does the movie compare? What changes did you notice? Why do you think filmmakers sometimes change things when adapting books for the big screen?

Movie Details

In theaters : November 21, 2012
On DVD or streaming : March 12, 2013
Cast : Irrfan Khan , Rafe Spall , Suraj Sharma
Director : Ang Lee
Inclusion Information : Indian/South Asian actors
Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
Genre : Drama
Topics : Adventures , Book Characters , Wild Animals
Run time : 127 minutes
MPAA rating : PG
MPAA explanation : emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril
Award : Academy Award
Last updated : March 25, 2024

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Life of Pi (2012)

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Life of Pi Reviews

A marvelous piece of visual poetry with insights that require contemplation long after the visual awe has subsided.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 21, 2022

The animation involved in bringing Richard Parker to life is something you just have to see. I was blown away.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 23, 2022

ee's directorial instincts are sharp as ever. He can cultivate a believable relationship between Pi and Richard, relying primarily on subtle body language and, of course, the masterful visual effects.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 28, 2022

In my view, people who find no drama in everyday life and lives, and feel obliged, for example, to ski down Mount Everest to keep themselves occupied and excited, are not to be trusted about important matters.

Full Review | Feb 12, 2021

Why must bitter reality always rear its ugly head in such parables?

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Dec 2, 2020

Suraj Sharma gives a performance that exudes both boyish charm and a soulful desperation.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 14, 2020

Giving Ang Lee access to 3D camera equipment and a modern-day fable like "Life of Pi" is the best idea anyone has had in a long time.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 14, 2020

I have certainly seen dramas about survivors; but none, absolutely none that I have seen compare to the spectacular 'Life of Pi'. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Jun 25, 2020

Among its many virtues, this beautiful fable of a teen boy holding a grown tiger at bay for 277 days at sea makes a strong case for the superiority of live-action drama over animation...

Full Review | Jun 19, 2020

...in the end, we must abandon ourselves to the storytelling. With a gorgeous film like Life of Pi, that's not hard to do.

Full Review | Mar 10, 2020

Although certain narrative themes seem overblown or loaded with fallacious simplicity, film is a visual medium at heart and LIFE OF PI is the work of a visual storyteller at the top of his game.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2020

In a rare alignment of artistic vision and blockbuster ambition, Life of Pi stretches the horizon of cinema's new technology to restore old-fashioned movie magic.

Full Review | Jul 29, 2019

Lee imbues the film with remarkable grace, even when its imagery threatens to overwhelm it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 8, 2019

This is a strong piece of filmmaking from Lee, an exquisite bit of eye candy that examines the power of God and religion in a sharp and confident manner.

Full Review | Apr 11, 2019

A boy, and a tiger, and a vast, endless ocean. Ang Lee makes a film out of material that seems almost unfilmable, and a lot of it is quite wondrous.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 22, 2019

Ultimately, Life of Pi as film is a visual complement to Yann Martel's story as opposed to a fresh telling of its own

Full Review | Feb 28, 2019

Life of Pi is beautifully rendered with some fine performances. Unfortunately, this novel deemed by many to be 'unfilmable' ultimately proves to at least partially earn that distinction.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 21, 2019

Lee has successfully married some of this year's most sumptuous visuals with one of its most compelling and unashamedly spiritual stories.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 6, 2019

The visuals and special effects are imaginatively exquisite.

Full Review | Jan 19, 2019

Any old actor will tell you to never share the stage with children or animals. Certainly, that is the case here, as the film is almost exclusively child and animal -- and wonderful.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 1, 2018

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Review: ‘Life Of Pi’ Is An Inspiring & Visually Stunning Tale Of Faith, Hope & Self-Discovery

Rodrigo perez.

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Taiwanese-born American film director Ang Lee ’s career is difficult to pin down. He’s constructed nuanced and well-crafted dramas of various milieus and textures (from “ The Ice Storm ,” and “ Sense and Sensibility ” to the more erotic “ Lust/Caution ” and “ Brokeback Mountain ”) and orchestrated films of more action-oriented visual pizzazz and flair as well (“ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ,” “ Hulk “). Perhaps bridging all of his eclectic interests, Lee configures a lovely and winning formula for the dazzling and emotionally rich “ Life Of Pi .”

On par with the 3D prowess of James Cameron ‘s “ Avatar ” and Martin Scorsese ‘s “ Hugo ,” Lee utilizes stereoscopic technology to imbue the picture with the same sense of visual awe and wonder. In short, “Life Of Pi” is a visual marvel and an extraordinary technological achievement. But perhaps what makes the picture better than both the aforementioned 3D touchstone pictures is that character, soul and emotion are paramount in its mind over visual pyrotechnics. In fact, one could argue that, outside of a few stunning visual sequences, “Life of Pi” is not very reliant on 3D to tell its story, and that’s probably why the technology enhances the story, rather than elevates it.

Related Stories ‘Trying’ Season 4 Trailer Jumps Ahead Six Years for a Fresh Flurry of Parenting Tests Ang Lee Rejects 3D for Bruce Lee Biopic: ‘The Whole Ecosystem Is Bad’ for the Format

Told in a rather conventional flashback conceit from an older man’s point of view — Irrfan Khan relating his unbelievable and harrowing tale of survival to an unnamed author played by Rafe Spall — Ang Lee’s adaptation of Yann Martel’s beloved novel is dynamic and enthralling with a moving and life-affirming tone that is genuinely earned and largely escapes most traps of cloying sentimentality (don’t worry, songs by Coldplay and Sigur Ros are relegated to the trailer only).

Deeply patient, the central narrative of “Life of Pi” — focusing on a sixteen-year-old Indian boy shipwrecked at sea in a life raft with minimal rations and an adult Bengal tiger — doesn’t begin until 40 minutes into the picture, and while it’s somewhat slow going until then, the film’s composure pays off. Lee makes a wise decision to spend time with his set up. The fable-like tale begins and concludes in bookended fashion, with an author (Spall) struggling from writer’s block, tracking down an older Pi (Khan) on the advice of a mutual acquaintance, who shared that the elder Indian man has an unbelievable story to tell. Wise and mature with a serene demeanor, Pi invites the author into his home and tells him his life story: how a young boy named Piscine (after a French swimming pool — Piscine Molitor Patel), became Pi and grew up in Pondicherry, India (akin to the French Riviera of the country) in the 1970s.

Pi’s family owns a zoo and animals are a part of their daily lives. The inquisitive boy explores various faiths (Christianity, Hinduism and Islam) in trying to understand the world, while his secular and more orderly father tells him to listen to rational thought as a true guide through life. Curious and searching to a fault, Pi learns one of his most important lessons when he attempts to feed the family zoo’s Bengal tiger (named Richard Parker because of a clerical error). Aghast, his father scolds Pi, lecturing him that the creature is an animal with no soul. “He is not your friend!” he admonishes while he forces the boy to watch what happens when the family goat is put near his cage.

Months later when financial woes trouble the region, Pi’s father ( Adil Hussain ) decides to pack up and move to Canada; taking the zoo’s animals with him on ocean liner with the family, knowing he can sell them in North America. This section is told in a gentile fashion which is deliberately paced (read: kinda slow), but soon the picture picks up steam and actually begins.

Tragedy strikes when a disastrous sea storm of cataclysmic proportions rocks the Pacific, and after a dazzling and valiant fight, sinks the gigantic tanker to the bottom of the ocean. Visually, this sequence is breathtaking, on par with James Cameron’s “Titanic,” and arguably more terrifying due to the violence of the tempest that attacks the seas and boat. All that survives in a huge lifeboat is teenage Pi ( Suraj Sharma ), a Zebra, a hyena, eventually the ferocious Bengal tiger Richard Parker, and a gentle orangutan. One by one they pick each other off until all that’s left standing is Pi and what becomes a fierce adversary, Richard Parker, that he has to avoid, dodge and battle on a daily basis along with the elements, starvation, and these impossible circumstances.

A fully-realized creation, it’s rather astonishing how realistic and life-like Richard Parker is. He’s a living, breathing element of the story who eventually becomes the emotional crux of the tale once the animal and Pi come to an type of understanding and even, a strange friendship and connection, however tenuous because of the animals feralness. Played by newcomer Suraj Sharma, Pi doesn’t seem particularly special at first, but when the character is put through the paces, the thesp pulls from emotional reserves that are crucial to the story; more impressive when one realizes he is generally acting alongside nothing.

While perhaps not quite a s lam dunk Oscar contender (as many pundits are clearly wondering), it’s pretty close, and there’s still lots to love and admire from “Life of Pi.” The film is not without its problems, as superficial as they ultimately may be. One would be remiss if they didn’t not address how the told-in-flashback narrative threatens to undermine the entire picture and at first this device is rather groan-worthy. But ultimately, it’s not a dealbreaker. As ‘Pi’ progresses, the conceit fades into the background and a crucial emotional moment takes place in the picture’s conclusion that perhaps explains why it could only be presented in this fashion. Additionally, as said, the setup will require some patience, and while the story itself also doesn’t reinvent the wheel, like other similar tales of survival (“ Castaway ” being the most memorable example), “Life Of Pi” thematically focuses on the endurance of the soul and the spirit; the need to never lose hope and thus survive even the most brutal of ordeals. Several of the film’s elements are hackneyed on the surface, the aforementioned flashback structure and the “if you don’t lose hope, life will be beautiful” platitudes, but Lee goes beyond clichés with a curious, warm and wondrously beatific approach to the “letting go” philosophy that reverberates. In short, its strengths far outweigh its minor problems. Making the familiar feel universal, Lee digs deep with every facet of filmmaking – sound, vision and poignant texture — to create an engrossing cinematic experience that is ultimately emotionally involving and rich.

While its journey to the big screen saw many directors come and go over the years, and even leaving more wondering if the book could even be faithfully told, Ang Lee has delivered and then some. Deeply resonant and soulful, “Life Of Pi, is a harrowing journey of survival, self-discovery and connection that will inspire and awe. [A-]

This is a reprint of our review that ran during the New York Film Festival.

Life of Pi – review

T he Taiwan-born Ang Lee rapidly established himself in the 1990s as one of the world's most versatile film-makers, moving on from the trilogy of movies about Chinese families that made his name to Jane Austen's England ( Sense and Sensibility ) and Richard Nixon's America ( The Ice Storm ). If he revisits a place or genre it's to tell a very different story – a martial arts movie in medieval China ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) is followed by a spy thriller in wartime Shanghai ( Lust, Caution ), and a western with a US civil war background ( Ride With the Devil ) is succeeded by a western about a gay relationship in present-day Wyoming ( Brokeback Mountain ).

He adopts different styles to fit his new subjects, and while there are certain recurrent themes, among them the disruption of families and young people facing moral and physical challenges, there are no obsessive concerns of the sort once considered a necessity for auteurs. He has a fastidious eye for a great image but he also has a concern for language.

His magnificent new film is a version of Yann Martel's Booker prize-winning novel, Life of Pi , adapted by an American writer, David Magee, whose previous credits were films set in England during the first half of the 20th century, Finding Neverland and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day . From its opening scene of animals and birds strutting and preening themselves in a sunlit zoo to the final credits of fish and nautical objects shimmering beneath the sea, the movie has a sense of the mysterious, the magical. This effect is compounded by the hallucinatory 3D, and in tone the film suggests Robinson Crusoe rewritten by Laurence Sterne.

The form is a story within a story within a story. An unnamed Canadian author whom we assume to be Yann Martel himself (Rafe Spall) is told by an Indian he meets that there is a man in Montreal called Pi who has a story that will make you believe in God. He's Piscine Molitor Patel (Irrfan Khan), a philosophy teacher, and he tells the curious story of his own extraordinary life, beginning as the son of a zookeeper in Pondicherry, the French enclave in India that wasn't ceded until 1954.

The movie's two central characters both obtained their names by comic accident. The deeply serious Piscine (played by Gautam Belur at five, Ayush Tandon at 12 and Suraj Sharma at 16)was named after an uncle's favourite swimming pool, the Piscine Molitor in Paris, but changed his name to the Greek letter and numinous number Pi after fellow schoolboys made jokes about pissing. He later became fascinated by a Bengal tiger in the zoo caught by the English hunter Richard Parker who called him Thirsty. On delivery to the zoo their names were accidently reversed and the tiger became Richard Parker. Was this fate or chance?

Growing up, the ever curious Pi becomes attracted to religion and the meaning of life, a spiritual journey that the film treats with a respectful wit as the boy rejects his father's rationalism and creates a personal amalgam of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. His faith is tested as an adolescent when his father is forced to give up the family zoo, where Pi realises he's been as much a captive as the animals themselves. A Japanese freighter becomes a temporary ark on which the Patel family take the animals to be sold in Canada. But it's struck by a storm as dramatic as anything ever put on the screen, and Pi becomes a combination of Noah, Crusoe, Prospero and Job. Alone above the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific, he's an orphan captaining a lifeboat with only a zebra, a hyena, a female orang-utan and the gigantic Bengal tiger Richard Parker for company.

This is grand adventure on an epic scale, a survival story that takes up half the movie. It's no Peaceable Kingdom like Edward Hicks's charming early 19th-century painting, where the lion sleeps with the lamb. This is a Darwinian place that Pi must learn to command. Using state-of-the-art 3D and digitally created beasts, Lee and his team of technicians make it utterly real, as they do a mysterious island that briefly provides a dangerously seductive haven. The 227 days at sea are a test of physique, mental adaptation and faith, and Suraj Sharma makes Pi's spiritual journey as convincing as his nautical one.

He confronts thirst and starvation, finds a modus vivendi with the fierce tiger, endures and wonders at a mighty storm, a squadron of flying fish, a humpbacked whale, a school of dolphins, a night illuminated by luminous jellyfish. This brave new world is observed by a young Chilean director of photography, appropriately named Claudio Miranda . The movie does for water and the sea what Lawrence of Arabia did for sand and desert, and one thinks of what Alfred Hitchock, who used 3D so imaginatively in his 1954 film of Dial M For Murder , might have done on his wartime Lifeboat had he been given such technical facilities.

This poetic Life of Pi concludes with a fascinating, deliberately prosaic coda that raises questions about the reality of what we've seen and confronts the teleological issues involved. One thinks of the reporter's remark at the end of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance : "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." At another level, Sam Goldwyn's advice to the screenwriter comes to mind: "Give me the story and send the message by Western Union."