The movie “Life of Pi by Ang Lee”, is a one of the most polemic movies of the year since it is a great representative of why the industries of cinema is call the 7th art, the movie relates the story of an Indian that emigrates to Canada and the journey that involved. The story stars when he was a child in India and he and his family own a Zoo, given the economic opportunities upcoming in Canada, Pi´s fathers decides to sell all the animals and move, during the travel, all the way crossing the sea in a vessel with the animals. During the journey disasters overcomes and the ship drowns, young Pi suddenly has lost all his family and is force to survived the accident on a boat that include a peculiar groups of survivors, a hyena, a zebra, and orangutan and Bengal tiger. The propose of this document is to analyze and critique the music, band and composition of the movie taking in mind how the music supports the film--creates moods, gives us emotions, tells us about a character or where we are.
Before presenting my own review it is necessary to enhance that this movie have been award in the most important academies of the industry by its music, it won the awards as “Best Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures – The Oscars”, “Best Music - Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA” and “Best Original Music – BAFTA” and others.
Mychael Danna the music director of the film, did a great job with the sound and music editing, this artist of the movie making did a great job combining music from the Indian culture in order that place the audience in a geography matter of the movie, using a majestic selection of vocals. The music orchestra is based on a minor piano chord, mandolin, sitar and all the traditional Indian percussion instruments that are mix together in order to create a unique selection of sounds and songs.
While there are arrangements made with vocal editing through the all movie, "Pi's Lullaby," is the only song that have lyrics in it (it have been made by a recognize vocalist from Bombay). The melodies that are worm and genteel match perfectly with the basis of the film. The harmony of the lyrics and the poetry that is within it makes you feel like you are in a environment of nature peace, as prairie of flowers o much similar like going in a gondola through Venice channels.
In the first moment that the movie begins it automatically takes you to the place where the story takes places with traditional and with very soft Indian music that does more than just give you location, it begins the process to taking you out of the real life for a while. The movie uses very sophisticated images, most of them from the nature and with the mayor presence of animal scenes, the arranges that are use between picture and music editing are just remarkable all over the movie, it always match place and music so never go out of context.
When it comes to emotions, the music is the main focus of the hurricane of emotions that any that have seen the movie felt it easily takes you, from joy and happiness of the begging of the movie where everything is peace and basically the relate of a normal child hood to de agony of the loosing family, friends, and finding yourself as your where experiencing in real life those facts, and on more time the music with a majestic arrange of soft and warm music brings the calm in to you and makes you realize that after all the character is alive and that journey has just began. There are a great number of ups and downs when we talk about felling and in all times the music manage to take you in matter of seconds to each one of the feelings that the story relates.
Talking about the relationship between music composition and the description of the characters, is does it with a gently touch using childish at the begin where “PI “ is just a kid and progressively using more sophisticated tones and powerful instruments in the background of the themes that are played.
It truly has to be establish that the music of this movie is beyond any average music, not only because it is musically well executed but because in all times it match the story context of feelings, locating, time and others. There are very few moments in the movie where there is no music playing and that for me is what makes it special because once you sit to watch the movie it involves you and not even for a second lest you take you’re my out of the story and in the end when for most people a sour taste is left by result of the story it is the music a one more time the responsible of take you out, make you realize that it has been a wonderful journey and that it had a happy ending.
Reference
Ang, Lee, Dir. “Life of Pi”. Twentieth Century Fox. 2012. Film
“Life of Pi”. www.imdb.com. 2012, 4 May 2013
