Life of Pi

If you read other reviews, you can certainly tell which reviewer (few) read the bestseller, and who didn't. You are about to read the review of one who didn't- which turned out to be good since the ending is really a surprise. I'll assume YOU haven't read the book, either. Good.
This is a gorgeous movie-just beautiful to behold. The colors, the imagery, the lighting- all wonderful. As a first timer to the material, you start to feel that someone is spinning a beautiful and elaborate yarn to entertain you- that something is a little off, but you believe the narrative. The tale is so well told that you wholeheartedly participate in the suspension of belief and ride the waves for over 200 days with the boy and his travel companion, a Bengal tiger. It is a lovely movie, if overly long. I will always grouse a bit about the lack of editing. Why do directors fall so in love with their work that they are willing to risk the attention of their audience? Especially in a movie like this where a great deal of time is spent with nothing happening. That said, just relax and enjoy the sheer beauty of the film- it is a simple tale of survival on the sea, but one with religious overtones. Then go home and read how they made everything so real.