Released in 2012, The Life of Pi is one of those works that, although it may pass quietly as a commercial film, is actually a deeply inspiring story.

Perhaps the fact that it is based on the novel of the same name has made things a little easier, but what cannot be denied is that from it we can extract lessons that we can apply in our day-to-day life , incorporating them into our philosophy of life and our habits.

The lessons of the life of Pi

Let’s remember: The life of Pi is apparently a story about a young Indian man floating adrift in a boat he shares with a menacing tiger . A relatively simple premise that is rich in metaphors.

Ang Lee’s film has several layers of depth, and in them it is possible (though not simple) to find a message about the things that are really worthwhile in life and about how to avoid totally unnecessary forms of suffering.

1. Learning changes us deeply

A young man is capable of educating a ferocious beast so that, even if he does not obey him, he at least respects him. This, which as shown in the film is credible, reminds us that we have the power to change and to help others to change . There are no essences or minds condemned to remain the same throughout life. Through dynamics of interaction we transform mentalities and old vices.

2. It is convenient to escape from dogma

Religion has a fundamental role in the story of The Life of Pi, although this does not mean that the protagonist is a fundamentalist or that everything he does is for the favour of a god.

On the contrary: the message that the film conveys is that the combination of different belief systems is perfectly possible , and surprisingly natural, unless we let ourselves fall into fanaticism.

Thus, religion, or specifically the presence of Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, appears to exemplify that coexistence and diversity of beliefs in the same body, whether biological or social, is possible. And if we are capable of doing that with religions… what would we not be capable of doing with beliefs that are not given a religious character? Dogmas are not only harmful: moreover, if we want to, it is easy to avoid them.

3. Fear cannot paralyze us

In the film, what most defines the protagonist’s situation is helplessness, vulnerability. At first he is totally alone in a hostile environment where the danger is clear: tiger attacks, or drowning in the ocean.

In a situation like this it is not possible to rely solely on the instinct of survival , because in moments where the danger is so palpable, desperate responses either paralyse us or make us move without strategy and with imprecision. That is why it is important to know how to leave aside the reactions that are typical of terror.

4. Accept the possibility of using the problems

Within each problem there are ways to adapt to it. If we are intelligent beings, it is precisely because we have the possibility, from a totally new challenge, of discovering solutions in it, as if someone had left them prepared and hidden somewhere when this is not really the case. Intelligence consists of adapting to the new .

Piscine Monitor Pattel, despite not having the experience of a sailor, takes advantage of the materials of the same environment that is threatening to solve the problems that arise in their path.

5. The wild is not innocent

We often idealise everything that has connotations of belonging to the wild and “natural” world (as if neither our societies nor we ourselves, as human beings, were natural).

However, life on planet earth makes its way both through fertility and through violence , as can be seen in The Life of Pi. Even in situations where everything that happens seems to be due to a failure of reality, there are animals that embrace violent behavior.

6. There are several readings of reality

We are never able to know the truth faithfully, and all the explanations we can make about reality have flaws and blind spots, unknowns that remain unanswered. This happens in The Life of Pi, which incorporates the mystery into its own history with an ending in which we must get involved in order to construct a version of the facts by creating our own hypotheses.

In the end, if we are vulnerable enough not to have an infallible belief system, to be forced to face our fears and to seize opportunities in danger, and to learn to adapt to a natural world that may be hostile, it would be rare for us to have access to the real thing.

A film to watch again and again

In short, The Life of Pi is an excellent story full of beautiful and inspiring symbolism that goes far beyond the aesthetic. It is convenient to see it with an open mind in order to capture all its nuances and to know well the way in which, through the cinematographic language, the messages are communicated to us .