I watched Life of Pi last night because I thought it would be a good choice for my next review since it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography. WOW. That's all I have to say about the movie. The story was intriguing and magical while the visuals were just breathtaking. I have never before seen a movie so beautiful in every possible way. For this review, I thought the aspects I should put the most focus on are the colors and the lighting. By doing this I won't ruin the story for anyone, because it truly was one of the best movies I have ever seen.
From the very first scene, I knew this was going to be a stunning movie. The colors of everything in the scene were so vibrant and bright and crisp. It looked like a painting of paradise. From then on, I tried to pay extra close attention to the colors in each scene as well as the lighting and how that enhanced each story. During several scenes throughout the movie, the colors seemed to dull a bit and this change added to the mood that was to be associated with what was going on. For example, when Pi is on the boat on his way to North America, leaving his home for good, the colors of the room and his clothes are very dull and melancholy to further illustrate his sadness and longing for home. Multiple times throughout the movie Pi experiences a storm while at sea and suddenly it seems as though all the lights were shut off on the movie set. Obviously this is done to make the storm seem as realistic as possible, but it also creates a very gloomy and miserable mood. Each night while Pi is in his lifeboat, the stars and moon reflect beautifully in the vast ocean and serve as the only source of light for that scene. They are so bright and warm that they give the audience hope that Pi will eventually be saved. On the first morning after the ship Pi was on with his family sunk, and after he got into a lifeboat by himself, the sun rises and the scene might have been the most stunning and hope-filled in the entire movie. The sun, clouds, and water are all in warm shades of gold and combined they really light up the entire scene. The sun reflects off of everything in the boat, including Pi, and create such a warm feeling. It would take me hours to give every example of how gorgeous each scene was or how the colors were the sharpest I have ever seen, so instead I am going to try to include as many pictures as I can in the rest of this post so you can all appreciate the pure beauty that was in the film.
I want to focus this post mainly on the color and beauty of the film, but it is also important to mention the camera angles used. There were shots taken from under water, from the sky, from the water level, and everything in between. The angles were very original to me as I rarely see such daring shots in movies. Since most of the movie was about a boy being shipwrecked, many of the angles in the movie were taken below or at sea level. Obviously I have seen movies that use these techniques but not to the extreme where it looks like a character is swimming across the sky, as it did in Life of Pi. Another interesting angle that was used very often was that of an aerial shot of Pi's life boat, surrounded by endless miles of open ocean. This angle really illustrated to the audience the solidarity of Pi, and how big the ocean is compared to a young teenager. The last shot that really struck me as being significant was when Pi is looking up into the sky during one of the storms he endures while on the lifeboat, and basically says to God that he is ready to die and that he completely surrenders. The camera is below Pi's head, facing up and you can see the pain in Pi's eyes as he looks hopelessly into the heavens.
From the very first scene, I knew this was going to be a stunning movie. The colors of everything in the scene were so vibrant and bright and crisp. It looked like a painting of paradise. From then on, I tried to pay extra close attention to the colors in each scene as well as the lighting and how that enhanced each story. During several scenes throughout the movie, the colors seemed to dull a bit and this change added to the mood that was to be associated with what was going on. For example, when Pi is on the boat on his way to North America, leaving his home for good, the colors of the room and his clothes are very dull and melancholy to further illustrate his sadness and longing for home. Multiple times throughout the movie Pi experiences a storm while at sea and suddenly it seems as though all the lights were shut off on the movie set. Obviously this is done to make the storm seem as realistic as possible, but it also creates a very gloomy and miserable mood. Each night while Pi is in his lifeboat, the stars and moon reflect beautifully in the vast ocean and serve as the only source of light for that scene. They are so bright and warm that they give the audience hope that Pi will eventually be saved. On the first morning after the ship Pi was on with his family sunk, and after he got into a lifeboat by himself, the sun rises and the scene might have been the most stunning and hope-filled in the entire movie. The sun, clouds, and water are all in warm shades of gold and combined they really light up the entire scene. The sun reflects off of everything in the boat, including Pi, and create such a warm feeling. It would take me hours to give every example of how gorgeous each scene was or how the colors were the sharpest I have ever seen, so instead I am going to try to include as many pictures as I can in the rest of this post so you can all appreciate the pure beauty that was in the film.
I want to focus this post mainly on the color and beauty of the film, but it is also important to mention the camera angles used. There were shots taken from under water, from the sky, from the water level, and everything in between. The angles were very original to me as I rarely see such daring shots in movies. Since most of the movie was about a boy being shipwrecked, many of the angles in the movie were taken below or at sea level. Obviously I have seen movies that use these techniques but not to the extreme where it looks like a character is swimming across the sky, as it did in Life of Pi. Another interesting angle that was used very often was that of an aerial shot of Pi's life boat, surrounded by endless miles of open ocean. This angle really illustrated to the audience the solidarity of Pi, and how big the ocean is compared to a young teenager. The last shot that really struck me as being significant was when Pi is looking up into the sky during one of the storms he endures while on the lifeboat, and basically says to God that he is ready to die and that he completely surrenders. The camera is below Pi's head, facing up and you can see the pain in Pi's eyes as he looks hopelessly into the heavens.
Pi is on an island and at night the whole island glows in a turquoise shade.
On his lifeboat, Pi can see the glowing jellyfish and sea creatures swimming at night.
The sunrise on the first morning after Pi's ship sank was truly the most beautiful I have ever seen.
The tiger that accompanies Pi on his journey is very near death and his bright orange fur begins to fade.
Pi dreams about his mother while at sea and her face is made up of stars reflecting in the ocean.
Aerial shots are used quite frequently to show the sea life swimming just underneath Pi's lifeboat.
The storms Pi endures transform the entire scene into a blend of blues, grays, and blacks.
The tiger that accompanies Pi is a bright orange color that is contrasted by the deep blue of the ocean.
No comments:
Post a Comment