Coming to terms with the big finale (spoilers)

SPOILERS FOR THE LIFE OF PI

The Life Of Pi is about a reporter who hears about a man who has a story that will make you believe in God. He seeks out the man and finds him. The man then proceeds to tell this fantastical story about being on a ship full of animals that sinks at sea. He is able to escape onto a life raft, also full of animals including a tiger, and he sails out to sea. He is basically at sea for months, and eventually it's just him and the tiger on the life raft. They co-exist on this life raft, and find some sort of peace between the two of them after some time. They sea fantastic sights and find mystical, crazy islands. He eventually makes it back to mainland, and the tiger runs off without looking back.

The reporter doesn't quite believe all of the crazy stuff happened and so the man tells another story. It's the same story but different. The ship still sinks, but instead of being stuck on a life raft with animals, he is stuck there with other people, including his own mother I believe. There are some not so nice people who end up murdering each other, and people resort to cannibalism to survive. The main guy has to kill someone I believe, and he just barely survives. It's a really dark and awful story, but sounds much more realistic.

The man speaking to the reporter than says "Which story would you rather believe?" And the reporter says "The one with the tiger", and so the man says "And so it is with God."

Essentially the movie says God is a comforting idea that helps us cope with the harsh, cold, reality of the world.

/r/WetHotAmericanSummer Thread Parent