Life of Pi (2012)
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall
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?
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.
