Oscar Picks (Page 3 of 3)

Rare, but it happens sometimes.  The highest-profile example is Barbara Streisand and Katherine Hepburn tying for Best Actress in 1969.

I think that Life of Pi deserved every Oscar it got, and no others.

My thing was that I was very much into the story, and in the last 20 minutes it told me thy the story I cared about is not what I should have cared about.

Well, oddly enough it was the ending that sold me on the movie.  The whole thing was beautiful to look at and held my attention - it's not like I hated it or was bored at all.  Then the ending surprised me, but in a good way. 

I have one quibble about the way the ending played out specifically, but otherwise I thought it was very fitting.  Also a good example of the "surprising but inevitable" ending, because I immediately thought "Oh of course.  I should have seen that coming."

But as I said, Life of Pi isn't my kind of movie - magical realism is so not my thing.   So for me the ending was what redeemed it, and made it about more than just (extremely) pretty pictures.

I really like the film's ending. The story is about finding meaning and comfort through things like family and religion. The ending of the movie serves that theme by saying that the stories we choose to tell are sometimes more important than the truth. It's not telling you not to care about the story you spent two hours with: it's telling you that you can and should care, despite what you now know.

It's a glass half full, half empty scenario. Yes, it's sympathetic to religion, but it also acknowledges that religion is 'a story' and therefore made-up, which is actually braver than most Hollywood movies that pander to the supernatural.

Obviously to say 'religion is a better story' invites all sorts of responses: (1) which religion? any religion I pull out of my ass? (2) doesn't truth count for anything? (3) what about all the negative aspects of religion? bigotry? inquisitions? persecutions? anti-science? continually striving to pull us back into the dark ages?

It's also very misanthropic to suggest humans are infantile and just want nice stories over the truth, and that rational truth seekers (e.g. scientists) are leading impoverished lives. A scientist can enjoy Lord of the Rings like others, but doesn't seek to blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

Well, (1) the film clearly doesn't subscribe to any one belief system, as it makes the point that the actual beliefs aren't what matters, what matters is what you get out of it. Pi is a member of three very different religions, and he gleans different truths from all of them. Pi doesn't promise to make the journalist believe in Jesus, or Vishnu, or Lord Xenu, he says it will make him believe in god. Just god. That leads into (2), which depends on what you consider "truth." The movie doesn't give you a straight answer. You can choose to believe whatever you want. I didn't have a problem with this ambiguity. It's the whole point of the movie. And (3), that's one hell of a generalization you've got there. I feel like I'm on /r/atheism on Reddit, and that's not a good feeling.

I don't think the movie makes this point at all. The movie suggests that you can seek truth through many different channels, and that it's closed-minded to suggest that one way is inherently "better" than any other way. Is it ridiculous to practice three different religions? Sure, you could argue that. But Pi gets meaning from it. He gets his morality from it, and guess what? It worked out for him. You don't have to agree with his methods, but you can't deny that they had a positive outcome.

There's a difference between empirical truth and personal, internal truth. The movie is about the latter, not the former.

Too late, damage done.

Last edited by Lamer (2013-02-27 20:45:30)

Sorry 'bout the spoilers. I assumed the participants above had seen the film (it was released over three months ago, and is based on a bestselling book). What's the rule on spoilers? End of theatrical run? One year? The main attraction of the movie is the wonderful cinematography, effects, acting, and directing. The story doesn't hinge on a critical twist, like a murder mystery does. But apologies all the same.