Ending Explained: Life of Pi

Life of Pi (2012)

Director: Ang Lee

Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall

WARNING: Spoiler alert

 

The protagonist, Pi, narrates two stories of his survival. The first one is a fantastic story in which Pi, stranded on a boat with Richard Parker, a tiger goes on a spectacularly epic journey of adventure, going through the most magical of experiences, encountering exquisite creations of the nature. In the process, he forges a unique bond with Parker, and this story, on the whole, leaves the viewer with an overall sense of hope and optimism.

Whereas, the second version of the story, and quite possibly the truth, is much darker, with a heightened sense of loss, and lays bare the brutal side of human nature. This version has none of the elements which lend the previous story its magical qualities.

When asked which story he would prefer, the author replies that the one with the animals is definitely better. To this, Pi responds by saying, "And so goes with God". This statement is an incredibly succinct explanation of the reason why people more often than not, choose to believe in God (regardless of His existence), when they could easily look the other way.  When faced with two theories, one mostly realistic, and the other largely fantastic, with no evidence of either one being true, why not go for the latter?  

The ending of the film serves to subtly explain why a majority of people across the globe, given the choice of being a believer or a non-believer, go with the former. To put it very simply, what Pi wants to convey to the author (and also to the viewers, perhaps) is this: In case you are agnostic, then you rather not ponder much over it, and become a theist. 

  

Movie Review: Hot Fuzz (2007)

Hot Fuzz (2007)
Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Timothy Dalton

Edgar Wright is one filmmaker whom I have not quite followed, and to be honest, I was expecting Hot Fuzz to be nothing more than a farcical comedy. But the experience turned out somewhat differently. Yes, parts of the movie were truly preposterous, but they were intentionally and only superficially so. And of course, the film would not have been half as memorable without the wacky situations and wackier characters.

Nicolas Angel (Simon Pegg), a top cop in the London Police, is transferred to a quiet town called Sandford. Nicolas, initially upset about being forced to leave London, very quickly finds his feet and begins to perform his duties in the only style he knows.  Soon enough, he has rounded up kids for underage drinking, a policeman for drunken driving and ran around trying to catch an elusive swan (yeah, you read it right!). Suddenly, the events take a sinister turn when two actors are brutally slaughtered by a mysterious person who dresses up as the Grim Reaper. Angel is certain that it is a case of homicide, but the townsfolk think of it as an accident, and carry on with their normal life. But dead bodies continue to show up, forcing Angel to take the charge and investigate the matter with some assistance from a bumbling fellow policeman Danny (Nick Frost), even as all others keep turning a blind eye to the crimes to the point of driving Angel absolutely crazy.  As the two probe deeper, dirty secrets of Sandford begin to tumble out leading to a discovery which causes complete mayhem.

First things first, this film completely belongs to the two lead actors, Pegg and Frost. The two are in top form and their on-screen chemistry is arresting.  Pegg is the quintessential hero of the film – brave, righteous and most importantly, infallible. Still, he manages to make the character of Angel look eminently real. Frost plays the role of a good-natured cop who desperately wants to be a part of the ‘action’. But in a place as eventless as Sandford, he has to make do watching bad-ass cop flicks (Bad Boys and Point Break; there could have been better films for the purpose of paying homage, but I’m not really complaining) most of the time. He plays Danny Butterman with a charming innocence and warmth and his performance alternates between having us in splits and making us smile quietly at his child-like gullibility.  The development of the friendship between Danny and Angel is a key theme which adds to the emotional depth, which is so often found lacking in films belonging to this genre.

The plot runs at a feverish pace with hardly any time to ponder over the events. The editing, though very unorthodox, perfectly suits the tenor of the movie. Wright makes sure that his film does not become another spoof on the ‘slasher’ flicks, as the macabre death scenes, in spite of being cartoonish, create an atmosphere of suspense which is sure to keep the viewers guessing about the identity of the killer.

Like I said before, this is hardly a simple farcical comedy. The tone of the film is comic, rather cartoonish throughout with numerous pop culture references. But the emotional subtext provided by the budding friendship between Angel and Dan contribute greatly towards making the proceedings seem very relatable. Edgar Wright succeeds in making a hugely entertaining movie which so effortlessly blends a crazy plot with evocative social commentary.

Over-the-top, zany but not without substance, Hot Fuzz is a modern masterpiece which gives a whole new twist to the age-old concept of good versus evil. This is comedy at its best!

Movie Review: United 93 (2006)

United 93 (2006)

Director: Paul Greengrass

Conspiracy theories abound when it comes to what actually transpired during the morning of 9/11.  I have come across several articles speculating the causes behind the tragedy. These ranged from reasonable to utterly nonsensical.  But what is accepted almost unanimously is that the passengers on United 93 stirred up courage and stood together in adverse circumstances, possibly saving many lives and also inspiring others for years to come. It is this story of valour, driven out of desperation and the sheer instinct for survival, which forms the central theme of the Paul Greengrass movie.

On a seemingly normal sunny day, passengers board a routine flight at the Newark Airport bound to San Francisco. Unknown to the passengers, there are, in their midst, four terrorists who would stop at nothing to achieve their target. The flight take-off gets delayed due to high air traffic, and in the meantime the North Tower is hit by a flight 11. This induces shock and confusion in the air traffic control room as well as in the air command base as no one really knows what exactly is going on. It is only after a second plane hits the South Tower that the authorities get a whiff of the co-ordinated terrorist attack. They are too late in realizing that they are dealing with multiple hijackings. Alert messages are sounded off to all the flights but in vain, as another plane crashes into the Pentagon, while the fourth plane United 93 is successfully taken over by the hijackers. The moments following the take-over are gut-wrenching as we come face-to-face with our basest fear, the fear of death. Amidst this fear and turmoil, the passengers discover unity and courage and dare to fight back, very nearly managing to regain control of the cockpit. Alas, it is not to be. We know the rest.

The subject matter is extremely sensitive and even the slightest of errors on the part of the filmmaker would have ended up being labeled as exploitative. But Paul Greengrass has taken every care to make this film with utmost sincerity and sensitivity. He does not take any sides - neither are the terrorists glorified nor are the heroics of the passengers given the typical Hollywood treatment (read Die Hard). In fact, the portrayal of the terrorists as well as the innocent passengers is very impressive. The hijackers are not unnecessarily demonized and they are shown to experience anxiety and fear just like all others in the plane (for different reasons, though). The passengers simply seem to be ordinary people who unfortunately get stuck in a hellish situation. Many of the actors including the flight stewardesses and the people in the air traffic control, most notably Ben Sliney, play themselves in the movie, and this lends some level of authenticity and realism to the film.

The director completely decides to do away with character and development and nearly every character is given equal importance. There is no single person in the entire cast whose background is known and who is projected as the archetypical hero and this indeed helps in making United 93 stand out from other such films belonging to the genre. For the most part, we have the feeling that we are actually watching a real incident, that too from very close quarters. Greengrass makes you a part of the action and when the proceedings take a dreadful turn, it hits you hard.

The cast comprises of unknown faces that do not come with the past baggage of image and stereotype. And the performances of the actors hardly disappoint. In the last half hour, you see the proceedings from their point of view, and to their credit, their body language, demeanour and expressions make the tension palpable. Also, their transformation from being passive, frightened prisoners to finally deciding to take control of the situation is very believable.

The pace slackens a bit in the first hour with some repetitive scenes, but Greengrass' experience in documentary filmmaking holds him in good stead in the second hour. The unsteady camerawork, unconventional choice of actors and the knowledge that the events shown on film actually happened create a very disturbing and traumatic atmosphere. The scene of the sudden and violent take-over by the hijackers is particularly unsettling. The scenes that follow are no less distressing. But the last few reels make us root for the passengers and pray for their life even though we know how all of this ended.

Intense, and sometimes difficult to watch, United 93 is a heartfelt tribute to the unwavering human spirit, witnessed in the direst of situations. Watch it, but only when you are ready for it.