Life Of Pi Page #21

YOUNG PI (CONT'D)

I have to live with that. I was

alone in a lifeboat, drifting

across the Pacific Ocean. And I

survived. I screamed (In Hindi)

176 INT. PI'S HOME - DINING ROOM - MONTREAL - SUNSET 176

ADULT PI:

After that, no more questions. The

investigators didn't seem to like

the story, exactly - but they

thanked me, they wished me well,

and they left.

Pause. The Writer speaks his thoughts aloud as the

realization strikes.

WRITER:

So... the stories... Both the zebra

and the sailor broke their leg. And

the hyena killed the zebra and the

orangutan. So ... the hyena is the

cook. And the sailor is the zebra,

mother is the orangutan... and

you're... the tiger.

ADULT PI:

Can I ask you something?

WRITER:

Of course.

ADULT PI:

I've told you two stories about

what happened out on the ocean.

Neither explains what caused the

sinking of the ship, and no one can

prove which story is true and which

is not. In both stories, the ship

sinks, my family dies, and I

suffer.

WRITER:

True.

ADULT PI:

So which story do you prefer?

WRITER:

The story with the tiger. That's

the better story.

73.

ADULT PI:

(Heartfelt:
)

Thank you. And so it goes with God.

WRITER:

(Pause. He looks up.)

Mamaji was right. It is an amazing

story. Will you really let me write

it?

ADULT PI:

Of course. Isn't that why Mamaji

sent you here, after all?

They hear a car pulling into the alleyway alongside the

house.

ADULT PI (CONT'D)

My wife is here. Would you like to

stay for dinner? She's an

incredible cook.

WRITER:

I didn't know you had a wife.

ADULT PI:

And a cat, and two children.

WRITER:

So your story does have a happy

ending.

ADULT PI:

Well, that's up to you. The story's

yours now.

The Writer smiles. Outside, car doors slam; we hear voices as

Pi's wife and children cross around to the front. Pi rises

and moves to the door. The Writer glances one final time at

the report. He flips the page and hesitates, reading the last

few lines aloud.

WRITER:

(Reading:
)

"Mr. Patel's is an astounding story

of courage and endurance

unparalleled in the history of

shipwrecks. Very few castaways can

claim to have survived so long at

sea, and none in the company of...

(He looks up at Pi)

...an adult Bengal tiger."

74.

PI:

(Off:
)

We have a guest. Let me introduce

you...

THE WRITER stands and faces Pi. We see his POV - on Pi,

holding his daughter in arms, surrounded by his family,

smiling...

DISSOLVE TO:

183 EXT. THE MEXICAN COAST/THE JUNGLE - DAY 183

YOUNG PI'S POV of Richard Parker from behind as he stares

into the jungle, the tiger's ribs gently rising and falling

as he smells the jungle air - and then he walks forward and

disappears into the swaying trees.

The moment that the tiger is out of view, all the color

drains out of Pi's world; his view of the trees loses all

dimension and fades to black and white as we...

FADE TO BLACK.

THE END:

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