Pi

An obsessive, seziure-plagued, sociophobic genius crunches numbers in his apartment with home-grown super computer in an attempt to reach the ultimate conclusion of his obsession while being sought after by Hasidic and Industrial operatives. "Pi" - a creative, low budget, award winning independent flick shot in black and white on grainy/contrasty film - is moody, frenetic, idiosyncratic, cerebral and not for everyone. However, its unique story, artsy milieu, skillful direction, and creativity and energy make it pound-for-pound better than most big budget studio films. Will probably play best to the college crowd.

A math whiz, with mental and physical problems, is driven to distraction by 2 groups intent on using his genius for their own ends. Very good, not to mention unique, picture shot in black and white using non-standard filming techniques.

I love independent film,but this film is terrible.Unless you are a math,engineering or philosophy major,you will have no interest in this film.I tried to like it,but the plot was WAY too confusing.Its all been done(alot better,mind you)in Lynch's ERASERHEAD.I give this fim a 2...simply because the soundtrack was good enough to keep it from the lowest mark.Very pretentious amatuarish filmaking.

A rather avant-garde approach to cinema. It didn't work for me, but I can see some appeal for some due to it being (very) different. The black-and-white photography is an affectation. We simply do not experience the world that way. Old movies were shot that way because color was very expensive. Eventually audiences would no longer tolerate it, and it fell by the wayside. Good Lord, can anyone remember how to set a camera down and film? The current fashion of jumpy erratic camera work is almost enough to cause a seizure. Everyone seems to think that this film is so original, but it breaks down into the hoary cliché about the struggle between genius and insanity. Which eventually breaks down into the legend of Icarus.

Like "The #23" and "a beautiful mind" this movie is compelling but alas it's not good. If you are not up to strobe effects this will mess with you. The notion of order from chaos is always interesting but this movie, for me, just didn't work.

I consider myself an above average film-goer. In fact I teach film. But what is this movie all about? I have no idea. It reminds me of Ken Russell directing Donald Duck in math land. I watched the whole movie but where was it going? If anyone can unriddle the secrets of "Pi", let me know.

This would still be good (perhaps even better) without the art house cinema touches. The plot is rich enough that it could have been explored at even greater depth . . . perhaps some narrative tricks could have replaced the cinematic tricks, especially since the cinematic tricks follow familiar paths . . . but hey, I'm not complaining. A thoroughly enjoyable movie (a math thriller? Who'd of thought . . . .)

While watching this film I discovered a magic number with very great significance. It is 89. Take the duration of a film in minutes. The closer the film runs to this magic number, 89 mins, the less entertaining it is. Saturn 3 and The Avengers are just 2 examples that spring to mind. They're under an hour and a half so the poor viewer continues to watch knowing that even if it doesn't get any better it least it'll end soon. Pi runs for 84 minutes. Hey, I've just discovered another one. 7.5! The closer a film gets to an IMDB user rating of 7.5 the more boring it is. Perhaps there is something in this numbers business after all.

+: highly original and daring story, intense acting and direction -: B/W cinematography does not always work, hard to relate to and care about protagonist, story had further potential left unexplored, unsatisfying ending