Summary

  • The ending of Life of Pi leaves viewers questioning the true meaning of the story, as the movie tells two different versions of his adventure at sea.
  • The film stays close to the source material, with Pi's story ending in a Mexican hospital bed, but the details and interpretation are left up to the viewer's preference.
  • The ending challenges viewers to consider the themes of faith, belief, and the power of storytelling, as Pi's goal was to make others believe in something greater than themselves.

Life of Pi explained that Pi ended his story in a Mexican hospital bed, but the 2012 movie's ending was also a little confusing about the truth of what happened to Pi and Richard Parker. Ang Lee's Life of Pi earned critical acclaim along with solid box office numbers. However, for every mention of Life of Pi's 3D or its amazing CGI tiger, there's confusion about the movie's meaning. Readers of Yann Martel's original novel also face the challenging last-minute question presented by the story's narrator.

Viewers expecting a fanciful adventure at sea were understandably caught off-guard by the movie's finale scenes. The deliberately ambiguous Life of Pi ending explained little to viewers and left many debating what it meant in the grand theme of the story. In the end, Life of Pi's meaning might not be as cut and dry as some moviegoers seem to think. Director Ang Lee made some changes in his movie, but he kept the main themes from the book, which makes the Life of Pi ending very close to the source material.

Life of Pi is available to stream on Hulu.

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Why What Happened In Life Of Pi Is Ambiguous

Pi Explicitly Let Viewers Decide To Believe Which Version Of The Story They Preferred

Pi leaves it up to the viewer to decide which version they "prefer."

The Life of Pi ending explained that Pi's adventure concluded in a Mexican hospital bed, where he was interviewed by Japanese Ministry of Transport officials. The agents tell Pi that his story — which includes multiple animal companions and a carnivorous island — is too unbelievable for them to report. So, Pi tells them a different version of the story: one that paints a much darker and emotionally disturbing variation of events. Pi leaves it up to the viewer to decide which version they "prefer."

While this Life of Pi twist was unexpected, personal "preference" has a larger thematic meaning when viewed in the context of the overarching story. In both accounts, Life of Pi explained that Pi's father contracts a Japanese ship to transport his family, along with a number of their zoo animals, from India to Canada to escape political upheaval in their native country. The stories are identical until Pi climbs aboard the lifeboat, only re-converging when he is rescued on the Mexican shore. What actually happened during the 227 days that Pi spends lost at sea are up for debate.

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Pi's Animal Story Explained

Pi Survived At Sea By Befriending A Bengal Tiger

Pi and Richard Parker in Life of Pi.

In the animal-centric version of Pi's tale, the Life of Pi explained that the cargo ship sinks and, during the ensuing chaos in the film set at sea, he is joined on the lifeboat by a ragtag group of zoo animals that also managed to escape: an orangutan, a spotted hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, and a Bengal Tiger (named Richard Parker). After some time, Pi watches helplessly as the hyena kills the zebra and then the orangutan before it is, subsequently, dispatched by Richard Parker.

Life of Pi explained that Pi then sets about conditioning the tiger through rewarding behavior, so that the two could co-exist in the boat. Though Pi succeeds, the pair remain on the verge of starvation. However, after several months at sea, they wash ashore on an uncharted island packed with fresh vegetation and a bountiful meerkat population. Pi and Richard Parker stuff themselves but soon discover that the island is home to a carnivorous algae that, when the tide arrives, turns the ground into an acidic trap.

When they don't believe his tale, he tells a different version of his journey.

Pi realizes the island will consume them. So, as Life of Pi explained, he stocks the lifeboat with greens and meerkats, and the pair sets sail again. When the lifeboat makes landfall along the Mexican coast, Pi and Richard Parker, the surprisingly accurate CGI tiger, are once again malnourished. As Pi collapses on the beach, he watches the Bengal tiger disappear into the jungle. Pi is brought to a hospital, where he tells the story to the Japanese officials. However, when they don't believe his tale, he tells a different version of his journey.

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Pi's Human Story Explained

Murder On The High Seas Defined This Version Of Life Of Pi's Narrative

Suraj Sharma in Life of Pi.

The Life of Pi ending explained that, in this version of Pi's tale, the cargo ship sinks, but instead of the ragtag group of animals in the lifeboat, Pi claims he was joined by his mother (Gita), the ship's despicable cook, and an injured Japanese sailor. After some time, fearing for the limited supplies in the boat, the cook kills the weakened Japanese sailor, and later, Gita. Scarred from watching his mother die in front of his eyes, Pi kills the cook in a moment of self-preservation and revenge.

Pi does not elaborate on the human story beyond the revelation that he was alone.

Pi does not mention his other adventures at sea, but it'd be easy to strip away some of the fantastical elements in favor of more grounded situations. Maybe he found an island but realized living is more than just eating and existing, deciding to take his chances at sea instead of wasting away in apathy on a beach eating meerkats. Of course, that is purely speculation — since, once again, Life of Pi explained that Pi does not elaborate on the human story beyond the revelation that he was alone on the lifeboat.

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The Life Of Pi Ending Twist Explained

There's No Correct Answer To What Happened To Pi

The whale in Life of Pi.

There is no "correct" answer, and as Life of Pi explained, it intentionally leaves the question unanswered so that viewers and readers can make up their minds.

Even if the connection between the lifeboat parties was missed, The Life of Pi explained that the writer makes the connection for the audience (or readers): the hyena is the cook, the orangutan is Pi's mother, the zebra is the sailor, and Richard Parker is Pi. However, the film's juxtaposition of the animal story and the human story led many moviegoers to view the last-minute Life of Pi plot point as a finite "twist," which was not the intention of Martel with the book, or very likely Ang Lee with the film.

Viewers point to the look of anguish on Pi's face during his telling of the human story in the film as "proof" he was uncomfortable facing the horror of his experience. However, the novel takes the scene in the opposite direction, with Pi expressing annoyance at the two men, criticizing them for wanting "a story they already know." Either way, there is no "correct" answer, and as Life of Pi explained, it intentionally leaves the question unanswered so that viewers and readers can make up their minds.

It can be easy to forget that, from the outset, The Writer promised a story that would make him believe in God. The beginning of the narrative sees Pi struggling to reconcile the differences between faith interpretations, acknowledging that each of them has value, even if they tell different stories. It helped him survive his ordeal at sea. As a result, the larger question is impossible to answer definitively, and, as mentioned, the "truth" of Pi's story is of little concern to Martel or Lee.

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What Life Of Pi's Ending Really Means

Both The Book And The Movie Are About Inspiring Belief

Pi and Richard in Life of Pi.

Pi is faced with a heavy challenge: telling a story that will make a person believe in God. Some listeners might remain unconvinced, but in the case of The Writer in the twisty Life of Pi, who openly admits that he prefers the story with the tiger, and the Japanese officials, who in their closing report remarked on the feat of "surviving 227 days at sea ... especially with a tiger," Pi successfully helps skeptics overcome one of the largest hurdles to faith: believing in the unbelievable.

Since Pi marries The Writer's preference for the Tiger story with the line, "and so it goes with God," it's hard to separate the question from theology. Evidenced by his multi-religious background, Pi does not believe any of the world's religions are a one-stop shop for the truth. Instead, Life of Pi explained that his story helps viewers consider which version they prefer: the one where people make their way and suffer through the darkness or the one where people are aided by something greater than themselves.

People can always pick and choose the parts that benefit their preferred version

Aside from the theological implications, it's insular to view the Life of Pi ending as simply a dismissal of everything that Pi had previously described (and/or experienced) since, in keeping with his view that every religious story has worthwhile parts, a third interpretation of the ending of the movie could be that the "truth" is a mix of both stories. Like Pi and his three-tiered faith routine, people can always pick and choose the parts that benefit their preferred version of Life of Pi.

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How The Life Of Pi Ending Differs In The Book

The Movie Version Moved Many Reveals To Much Later In The Story

Richard Parker in Life of Pi.

Ang Lee's Life of Pie was based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel, and there were some major differences between the two versions. The one key difference is that the book reveals Pi survived and ended up in a Mexican hospital early — which eliminates a lot of the tension compared to the movie. While most people realized Pi had to survive to tell his story to the Writer, leaving the arrival at the hospital until the end of the movie allowed viewers to follow his journey rather than just catch up with what happened to him.

In the book, it takes longer before readers realize Richard Parker is a tiger and not a human.

There was also a moment in the book where Pi learned why tigers could be dangerous. His father showed him what a starving tiger could do to another animal — or a person — and made this a life lesson. In the movie, Pi tried to feed Richard Parker by hand and his father then showed him the example. In the book at least, Pi was more careful, while in the movie he seemed careless, which went against his intelligence. In the book, it takes longer before readers realize Richard Parker is a tiger and not a human.

As for the Life of Pi ending, the book spoils the fact that Pi has a family now — a wife, kids, and pets of his own. He had a happy ending and moved on with his life. However, this is not revealed until the end of the Ang Lee movie and The Writer doesn't even know Pi has a family until he sees his wife at the end. Pi wanted to show there was a God to the Writer, and his story did that. However, his story also showed that life goes on, and in the movie, that was the bow on the Life of Pi ending.

Life of Pi Movie Poster
Life Of Pi
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Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, Life of Pi tells the story of Pi Patel, a young Indian boy who, after being shipwrecked, becomes stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. With no one but the tiger for company, Pi must fight to stay alive and reach safety. Suraj Sharma stars as Pi Patel, and the film is directed by Ang Lee. 

Director
Ang Lee
Release Date
September 11, 2012
Studio(s)
20th Century
Writers
David Magee
Cast
Suraj Sharma , Irrfan Khan