Life Of Pi reviewed by James A. George

Life of Pi is truly spellbinding. But then again, what else is to be expected? Ang Lee has won two Oscars for his directing, the poetic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the perfectly formed Brokeback Mountain. Yet Lee’s name is not chimed as often as that of other champions of Hollywood. Perhaps his Taiwanese heart is secretly driving his movies to their end result – somewhat off-kilter; it would be restricting to call Brokeback a gay film since it isn’t really a gay film; Crouching Tiger is a kung-fu film that isn’t really a kung-fu film; and the ensemble masterpiece The Ice Storm (based on a novel, the writer of which was so pleased that he sobbed throughout the credits at the film premiere), which is a family drama that isn’t so easily definable as such. And again, with Life of Pi he gives us what we could not have expected.

Not since Werner Herzog’s documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams has 3D been used with real intent and craft. From the cinematography and staging, to, quite remarkably, the editing, every moment has been considered and realised as a 3D film. There is still significant light loss due to the uncomfortable sunglasses necessary to watch it, but the bright and painterly visuals do a lot to compensate.

Pi is a teenage boy who lives in a Zoo in India. Due to economic difficulty, his family takes their zoo animals and travels with them over the ocean to sell them off in America. In one of the most emotional sequences at sea ever, tragedy strikes, and eventually Pi finds himself stranded on a boat with a tiger. A tiger, which at moments I subconsciously analysed and definitively defined as real and other times digital, turned out to be digital the entire way through. Computer graphic imagery has never been so convincing and beautiful. Another breakthrough in what is becoming more and more common in huge budget American cinema.

The film is constantly gripping despite narration by a middle-aged Pi. What results is less a survival story and much more a wonderful parable with the visual lyricism and delicate acting worthy of poetry. Without saying too much, the ending is a punch to the gut, in the most sincere, solemn and mesmerising way. Imagine such a punch!

For me, the proposal from the middle-aged Pi to tell us a story that will make us believe in God was overreaching, and while I hesitate to call Life of Pi a truly great film, I declare with the utmost urgency that even the slightest cinephile must see this film. If the death of 3D is as imminent as I suspect, it may be the only film of its kind to ever exist

James A George is the Eyewear film critic

IQ AND THE POETS - ARE YOU SMART?

When you open your mouth to speak, are you smart? A funny question from a great song, but also, a good one, when it comes to poets, and poetry. We tend to have a very ambiguous view of intelligence in poetry, one that I'd say is dysfunctional. Basically, it goes like this: once you are safely dead, it no longer matters how smart you were. For instance, Auden was smarter than Yeats , but most would still say Yeats is the finer poet; Eliot is clearly highly intelligent, but how much of Larkin 's work required a high IQ? Meanwhile, poets while alive tend to be celebrated if they are deemed intelligent: Anne Carson, Geoffrey Hill , and Jorie Graham , are all, clearly, very intelligent people, aside from their work as poets. But who reads Marianne Moore now, or Robert Lowell , smart poets? Or, Pound ? How smart could Pound be with his madcap views? Less intelligent poets are often more popular. John Betjeman was not a very smart poet, per se. What do I mean by smart?

"I have crossed oceans of time to find you..."

In terms of great films about, and of, love, we have Vertigo, In The Mood for Love , and Casablanca , Doctor Zhivago , An Officer and a Gentleman , at the apex; as well as odder, more troubling versions, such as Sophie's Choice and Silence of the Lambs . I think my favourite remains Bram Stoker's Dracula , with the great immortal line "I have crossed oceans of time to find you...".

THE SWIFT REPORT 2023

I am writing this post without much enthusiasm, but with a sense of duty. This blog will be 20 years old soon, and though I rarely post here anymore, I owe it some attention. Of course in 2023, "Swift" now means one thing only, Taylor Swift, the billionaire musician. Gone are the days when I was asked if I was related to Jonathan Swift. The pre-eminent cultural Swift is now alive and TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR. There is no point in belabouring the obvious with delay: 2023 was a low-point in the low annals of human history - war, invasion, murder, in too many nations. Hate, division, the collapse of what truth is, exacerbated by advances in AI that may or may not prove apocalyptic, while global warming still seems to threaten the near-future safety of humanity. It's been deeply depressing. The world lost some wonderful poets, actors, musicians, and writers this year, as it often does. Two people I knew and admired greatly, Ian Ferrier and Kevin Higgins, poets and organise

E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

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