Alas, the king is naked. The film is based on a popular recipe in recent years. It includes only two ingredients: special effect and deep noodles on the ears. As Dominic Toretto said, “You just have to believe in these things.” Exactly. What a big, powerful phrase. Empty, of course, but it's kind of creepy. Life of Pi has the same approach, only the target audience is different. The material is not designed for teenagers, but for a family audience. If there are roughnesses of the plot, meaningless messages, a beautiful picture will help not to think too much.
So, we were presented with a deep philosophical parable-allegory, the scale of which is amazing. All right, but a parable should allegorically express an idea. So what idea(s) does Life of Pi allegorically express? This is where the problems begin. Because the parable is both about this and this, and in the end it is not clear about what. “Life of Pi” is for those people who would like to think and give free rein to their imagination, but their favorite expressions in conversations are “don’t load” and “don’t bother”. For the average American, if you will. In other words, the deep meaning here is caught in shallow water.
I would compare Life of Pi to Big Fish (2003) by Tim Burton. Movies have a very similar message: “Let’s believe in a fairy tale.” No, don't. First of all, there are already many wonderful stories. They can be enjoyed as fairy tales, not including the syndrome of searching for deep meaning. Second, there is a strange game of meaning. We are seriously and even with pathos offered reality, which in general is a fairy tale, and on the other hand is a fairy tale, which is kind of very real. And most importantly, how sentimental and touching. It is hard to shake the impression that these are some attempts to create their drug trips for the law-abiding middle class, only without drugs.
