Continuity mistake: After Pi Patel first meets Anandi in the dance class, he is shown looking at her in the market place. There is a little girl sitting next to the flower seller. She doesn't have any flowers in her hair in the first shot, when the shot changes to Pi and then shows Anandi the little girl now has a flower in her hair . (00:27:55)
Factual error: On the isolated island, the meerkats stood up and see Richard Parker and then Richard happily eats some of them while the others watch. Meerkats would run away when they sense, hear or see a nearby predator.
Suggested correction: The reason for this is explained in the book. It's because the island is so peaceful they have no reason to fear predators.
Other mistake: In one part of the lifeboat scene, Pi crawls under the tarp to get some supplies, yet he never sees Richard Parker under it.
Trivia: Rhythm and Hues won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for this film. It was their third Oscar. But ironically, the company had to declare bankruptcy and lay-off half their staff just a few months before they won. And when the company was brought up during an acceptance speech for the film, the microphone was cut off. This led to widespread demonstrations and protests against the film and director Ang Lee by effects artists, as they are often marginalized, overworked and underpaid by studios.
Pi Patel: I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.
Santosh Patel: You think tiger is your friend, he is an animal, not a playmate.
Pi Patel: Animals have souls... I have seen it in their eyes.
Pi: With one word, my name went from an elegant French swimming pool to a stinking Indian latrine - I was pissing everywhere.
Question: What are we supposed to believe at the end of the film? Or is it deliberately left ambiguous? My mum had this theory that Pi made up the animal story to escape the reality of his ordeal. What do you think about the ending?
Answer: It's completely up to the viewer to decide. There's no right or wrong answer.
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