BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – EVER so often a touching and awe-inspiring movie comes around that evokes our emotions of faith, hope and happiness.
One such movie is the Oscar-winning film ‘Life of Pi’, which has and continues to receive top rating around the globe.
The movie was directed by the 2013 Oscar winner for Best Director, Ang Lee, a Taiwanese-born American film director, screenwriter and producer.
It was based on the internationally-acclaimed 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel ‘Life of Pi’ written by Yann Martel of Spain, who currently resides in Canada.
Last Saturday evening (Apr. 6) the Taiwan Embassy in collaboration with the Department of Culture hosted an organised 3D showing of the film at the Caribbean Cinemas at Buckley Site.
During the movie, many patrons laughed, cried and got a little startled behind their 3D glasses seeing the movie in a ‘feel-like it’s happening now’ fashion.
SKNVibes chit chatted with some of the officials who gave personal reviews on the film.
St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas
“It brings survivability as its theme, and when one has faith in God, when one puts his trust in the all-powerful being who looks over all of us, then one really will have hope for survival.”
Resident Taiwan Ambassador Miguel Tsao
“It’s a touching story and it gives us the courage and the strength how to face our challenges and overcome all of the hurdles ahead. It means a lot for me and for others who appreciate it.”
Minister of Culture Marcella Liburd
“It was great movie. For me, the main thing was not giving up, faith and hope …”
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture Sharon Rattan
“I thought it was a really good story about faith. This was my first time watching it. All I had heard about it before was the boy and the tiger. I wasn’t too sure about what the story was about behind it, and it’s amazing to see how they took all of the religions and used that common theme of faith coming out of all of the religions as a great lesson that we can learn.”
A summary of the book can be found on http://books.google.com which outlines that: “After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, a female orangutan - and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Since it was first published in 2002, Life of Pi has entered mainstream consciousness and remains one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in recent years.”
Information about the author can also be found on that website.
Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963 of Canadian parents. After studying philosophy at university, he worked at odd jobs and travelled before turning to writing.
An article found at http://articles.latimes.com and dated December 7, 2012 revealed that the movie had an usual premier in Paris, as patrons were seated in boats of an indoor swimming pool.
“Ang Lee's ‘Life of Pi’ is an unusual movie, taking place mostly in a lifeboat at sea with a tiger and a young boy. Appropriately, Twentieth Century Fox has given it an unusual premiere.
“On Wednesday, the studio debuted the Oscar hopeful in Paris in a location best designed to bring the audience along for Pi's journey. Not in a theater with cushy seats, but in an indoor swimming pool, with the moviegoers nestled in lifeboats, just like Pi”, the news source reported.
