Some movies are simply magical. They take us on a journey that makes us marvel, despair and laugh. And maybe even ask some really big questions about life and being human.
The popcorn tastes particularly good with some movies when we can switch off our brains and simply let ourselves be entertained. Some movies ask questions about the big issues in life and are heavy on the stomach – in a good way. But every now and then a movie manages to combine adventure and wonder with big questions.
If you’re lucky, it looks as stunning as Ang Lee’s masterful fantasy adventure Life of Pi: Shipwreck with Tiger. A movie that depicts a very special journey across the ocean, but also into the depths of humanity. What is told here with a lot of heart, strong images and a pinch of humor can change the way you look at your own world. You can stream this adventure journey on Disney+.
Stream the adventure voyage of Life of Pi: Shipwreck with Tiger on Disney+
In the adventure film Life of Pi, title character Pi must survive 227 days on the high seas – with a hungry tiger
Piscine Patel (Suraj Sharma), known only as Pi, loves animals and is fascinated by the mysteries of life and the universe. Every world religion inspires him, and he recognizes the soul of the inhabitants of his parents’ zoo in Pondicherry. He constantly learns new lessons from every part of his life. Including the fact that life has many painful goodbyes in store.
One day, the political situation in India forces his family to emigrate to Canada with most of the zoo animals in tow. So Pi leaves his homeland without saying goodbye. But the losses don’t stop there. The freighter that is supposed to take them to their new homeland capsizes in a violent storm. Pi is the only survivor, apart from a few animals.
(Life of Pi Shipwreck with Tiger)
All alone, he is now adrift in the Pacific. On board his little boat are a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena – and Richard Parker. Richard Parker, the giant Bengal tiger. Pi mourns the loss of his family, but he has not given up. With an iron will, he begins to fight for his survival. Countless horrors await him, but so do the wonders of the ocean.
Life of Pi on Disney+ is not just a gripping adventure film, but a meditation on life
Life of Pi is an adventure, but also a meditation on how closely light and shadow, horror and beauty lie together. When Pi’s fingers glide through the bioluminescence of the ocean at night as if through a galaxy, you can’t help but be a little awestruck. And when storms roll over him, you can feel their primal force all over your body – and yet they are still picturesquely beautiful.
(Life of Pi Shipwreck with Tiger)
But this tale of life and survival is not short of philosophical questions either. How much meaning can and should we attach to the things that happen to us? Where does humanity begin and where does it end? How do we deal with loss and unexpected turns in life? And what meaning do stories really have for us?
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Life of Pi doesn’t provide any answers. Just food for thought and plenty of peace and space to think about it. With images that can be dynamic and shake us up. And others that remain still, like the endlessly smooth sea in which the entire saffron-yellow sky is reflected. There is never a long sermon. Life of Pi is an invitation, a journey and a dream – which anyone can dream however they want.
