Ang Lee "films the unfilmable" in this visually arresting adaptation of Yann Martel's excellent novel, Life of Pi. Well, he doesn't quite "film the unfilmable" the ambiguities of the book are quite literally unfilmable but nevertheless he does as good a job as could be hoped for, depicting the eponymous Pi's trials and tribulations as he drifts across the Pacific Ocean with nothing but a Bengal tiger called Richard Parker for company. It's a sumptuous-looking film which uses 3D to stunning effect 3D technology is still struggling to find the right material, but just as Gravity found the right balance between subtlety and obtrusion (not to mention getting around the problem of the desaturated the image, commonplace in many 3D movies), here it is used to add depth and delicacy to the imagery, rather than as a cheap gimmick throwing objects in the audience's face. Lee's cinematic output is certainly eclectic to say the least, but there's a sense of the poetic pervading his work and Life of Pi is no exception. Lee also directed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a sequel to which is currently in the pipeline. While Lee hasn't confirmed whether or not he intends to direct (he reportedly found shooting the original to be one of the most uncomfortable experiences of his career, which doesn't bode well), if he does it would be fascinating to see what he could do with 3D technology with a martial arts epic. Given his maturity and flair for visual style, the results could be thoroughly impressive.
