Camera Angles In Life Of Pi

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Religion is an important part of life for many people, it teaches and helps them understand their morals and values. Life of Pi directed by Ang Lee based off Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, conveys the significance of religion through the protagonist, Piscine Molitor Patel. The film depicts the importance of religion through the variety of different camera angles, which show Pi’s strong belief in God. Another way the movie represents the importance of faith from the novel, is how Richard Parker is a symbol of where Pi comes from and his Hindu beliefs. Lastly, Pi’s character is revealed in the film through his want of a spiritual connection with God. The film Life of Pi effectively captures the theme of the novel, shown through a numerous amount…show more content…
In the movie, Pi’s facial expressions help the audience see how the daylight brings him hope (Life of Pi). The faraway camera shot displays the sun as a small speck in the sky as first that gradually increases (Life of Pi). As the sight of the sun progresses so does Pi’s hope, which is most noticeable in his face and body movement (Life of Pi). His attitude in the morning is completely different compared to his attitude the night before, where he was crying hysterically. In the novel, Pi is noticeably brighter during the daytime, his mood uplifts. After a long, horrible night, Pi awakens saying, “with the very first rays of light it came alive in me: hope” (Martel 150). He openly expresses his feelings towards the light and it brings him hope. The novel makes this particular point a big idea that is portrayed beautifully in the movie. To sum up, these cinematic techniques show how useful religion can…show more content…
In the Hindu religion, they do not only worship Gods but animals as well, including cows, elephants and even tigers. Pi in the movie, looks at the tiger with admiration and interest is evident in his facial expressions, this could be because of his beliefs (Life of Pi). Pi is one of the only characters in the movie who is seemingly interested in Richard Parker. He even goes onto to tell his father that animals have souls as well, showing his strong beliefs that animals lives should be valued (Life of Pi). Furthermore, in the Hindu religion one of the Gods rides a tiger that takes him safely where he wants to go. In Life of Pi, Richard Parker is the tiger and Pi is the God, symbolising that Richard Parker is the one that keeps him safe. While the movie shows the main points through facial and body expressions, the novel gives a more in depth description of Pi’s relationship with Richard Parker. Pi’s dependency on Richard Parker is made obvious when he states, “It’s the plain truth: without Richard Parker I wouldn’t be alive today…” (Martel 207). Without Pi’s religious belief he would not have imagined Richard Parker, meaning that he would have eventually died. The film plainly reveals how if Pi had not imagined Richard Parker he would not have survived 277 days at

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