Lullaby for Pi

.... colors and music!

What a kewl film! There is plenty of excellent jazz and melody throughout this story. The set coloration's are wonderfully moody and create the perfect tone for this semi-dramatic romantic love story.

Rupert Friend and Clémence Poésy give an outstanding performance as Sam & Pi. Set in an old hotel, a jazz bar, and a strange book & vinyl record shop Sam & Pi discover their love and resolve their individual wounds from just living. Pi creates the visual art that Sam creates with his music and song.

This movie has its own personality so do not expect a sweet Hollywood story. Here you will see and hear art.

A bravo from me!

I guess I'm a snob when it comes to Canadian movies - I just assume they will be kinda crappy and low budget and disappointing.

I really enjoyed this movie. It didn't give me any of that 'Canadian' vibe. It was really well written and not like so many movies that are just like everything else you've seen.

The characters are real and you care about them. I was pleasantly pulled into this movie and got lost in the story, unlike many of your more shallow Hollywood fare.

This movie is worth your time.

If you're looking for a creative artistic movie that isn't your standard stupid mainstream junk, then this is for you.

For a move based on (in my opinion) some excellent jazz, why isn't there a soundtrack available. Long time since I've heard any jazz like this!

Sam (Rupert Friend) is a troubled jazz musician who has stopped singing after a devastating lost. He runs a failing bookstore and lives in an old hotel run by George (Forest Whitaker). He befriends kids who walk in thru his ground floor window. His life changes when Pi (Clémence Poésy) breaks into his room and locks herself in his bathroom. She refuses to show her face as they both recover from personal heartbreaks.

There are great bits. I love Poésy and I don't mind Friend at all. The split screen of them on opposite sides of the door is great. They are good together. His musical ride into hip hop could have been very awkward but it actually works. Other than the character growth, the plot doesn't have much drive. It's like her pi tattoo where it has no ending and they dot dot dot it to put in a finale. It needs more in terms of plot writing and a bit more dialogue writing which could launch this romance into the atmospheres. It has a calm loving charm but the drama isn't there.

It only seems fair to start my review by stating that I may, quite possibly, be Rupert Friend's biggest fan. So I'm biased. The only work of his that I've seen so far that I didn't like was Hitman: Agent 47 (just not my style, I'm not a gamer, I got bored).

Rupert and Clemence are so charming together. I agree with another reviewer's comment that their relationship developed a little too quickly to seem realistic. But I loved the film so much I let that go. It's a love story; live a little. I usually avoid love stories because they're usually so bad. But this one is so refreshingly different--Sam and Pi expressing similar struggles (loss, grief, etc.) in different mediums (Sam through music and Pi through journaling and photography).

It's one of the more refreshing film experiences I've had in a while. I was glued to the screen. More people should see this.