Pi (1998)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1998
	Director: Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain)
	Actors: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis (Scarface, Black Swan), Ben Shenkman
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 27.11.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
Review: This movie was an obvious topic of conversation for physics students like I was in 1998. I remember that I liked watching it but found it really strange and experimental. Having now grown, knowing more about movies and watching Pi in optimal conditions, I can appreciate better its qualities. The topic of a scientist looking for the hidden laws behind Nature still appeals to me and I still find the sci-talk in Pi interesting and accurate (probably a mathematician would disagree with me). Beyond that,  I could see the talent of Darren Aronofski as filmmaker and storyteller. In spite of limited means (the black and white film is very grainy) he manages to convey all the anxiety of the main character through the repetition of sentences ("When I was a kid my mom told me not to look into the Sun, so when I was six I did it") and actions (taking the pills, locking the door, adding milk to coffee). The electro/trip-hop music also fits the general atmosphere. The set is cheap (old computers, the main processor in a plastic container...) but chaotic and thus more believable. I feared that the movie would be too long and sometimes boring as I remembered, but it was not the case. The main character evolves, meets interesting people like the Rabbi, and the viewer is then compelled to wait for the climax.
Rating: 8 /10