Finally got around to watching "Pi" WTF? (1 Viewer)

[Tom Rags]

I bought Pi when Best Buy had it for $8 a few months back, and I finally got around to watching it tonight. Can anyone give me some insight on this movie? I had heard nothing but good things, but I found it to be quite bizarre. It kind of reminded me of old SNL when Mike Myers did his "Sprockets" black and white short films.
For those who love this movie, help me out with a few things (Spoilers):
What is the significance of "looking into the sun?" What really happened to him as a kid?
What/why was "something" implanted into his head? How did it get there?
Why was he seeing a vision of himself on the subway bleeding from the hand?
What's the deal with the man on the subway (the one who sang and lent him the paper)?
The movie was interesting, and the math parts were neat, but someone please help me out here. I rarely need a good movie explained to me, but perhaps I am just tired. WTF is this movie ABOUT?! Any help is appreciated! Thanks...
--Tom

 

[SteveGon]

WTF is this movie ABOUT?!

Beats me. Maybe it's trying to say something about not getting carried away with an obsession?
BTW, wouldn't you like to see this on a double-bill with Eraserhead?

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He thought on homeland, the big timber, the air thin and chill all the year long. Tulip poplars so big through the trunk they put you in mind of locomotives set on end. He thought of getting home and building him a cabin on Cold Mountain so high that not a soul but the nighthawks passing across the clouds in autumn could hear his sad cry. Of living a life so quiet he would not need ears. And if Ada would go with him, there might be the hope, so far off in the distance he did not even really see it, that in time his despair might be honed off to a point so fine and thin that it would be nearly the same as vanishing.
-- Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain

 

[John Thomas]

Looking into the sun may've "triggered" this ability. Others link it with viewing the face of God, either instant death or imparting some cosmic wisdom upon the viewer. He mentions that ever since he stared at the sun ,he's had these 'headaches' and that's why he has to continually take pills. Also, the sun is commonly thought of as round, circular...Pi, the curvature of said perfect circles...it assumes some abstract thought-jumping from the viewer.
Something implanted into his head: (see above) He had a fascination with mathematics, which is the human race's way of explaining the universe. He (Max) mentions several times that there's a pattern to the numbers of the universe. They continually appear in various facets of life(including the stock market - the reason that Ms. Dawson was after him).
Bleeding from the hand - symbolism of _____; the term escapes me; the same occurence in Dogma when Bethany Sloane (Linda Fiorentino) bleeds from the hand. A reference to the crucifixion of Christ.
I'm not 'explaining' the movie well however.

Any other questions on how it ties together?
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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt.
My Top 10 of 2000 My Top 10 of 2001
[Edited last by John Thomas on September 20, 2001 at 02:20 AM]

 

[BrianKM]

symbolism of _____

"stigmata," perhaps?
I honestly did not get much from this film either, but I had been forewarned that it leaned toward the bizarre side. I do remember thinking that there was nothing really implanted in his head, it was just another disturbing delusion that accompanied his downward spiral of increasing paranoia and migraine pain. Seemed like a large portion of the film tried to be avant garde, but became a hackneyed film school cliche when all was said and done.
It was amazing to see how far Aronofsky had progressed by the time he made Requiem for a Dream, my favorite movie of 2000, though. Can't wait to see what he does with Batman.

 

[Richard Travale]

I kind of figured that maybe the scar on his head was from a previous attempt at a self-lobotomy.
I thought the staring at the sun reference was just symbolic of his scientific mind, i.e, Don't tell me that something is bad for me, I have to find out for myself.
I thought the bleeding from the hand was a prophecy(he lobotomized himself on the right side)
I thought the guy on the subway was one of the corporate spies.
I would like to know about the two brains though. Was the one at the subway his own brain? Was the one in the sink his, or was it representave of his mentors brain who had the stroke when Max destroyed it?
Anyway, I thought this movie was great.

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Rich
"A) You can never go too far and B) If I'm going to get busted it is NOT going to be by a guy like DAT."
My Website

 

[LarryDavenport]

THANK YOU! I hated this movie. The worst movie since Cool World!
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These chicks know how to party! - MoJo JoJo

 

[Ricky f]

I have seen the DVD lurking around for a while.
If I can find it for $8 I will pick it, PI Appears to have bizare elements.
Regards,
Ricky
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www.petitiononline.com/UncutDVD
Thank you WILL K for the banner

 

[Frank Grimes]

This is bizarre, I just purchased Requiem/Pi at Bestbuy and performed a search to get some answers, but I think I may have answered one in the middle of reading this thread.

The number that he discovers allows him to predict anything, right? Regarding the mark on his head, maybe he is simply predicting that he will drill into his head. On second viewing, he puts the drill pretty much right where the mark is. Unfortunately it's not possible to verify that he had the mark before he discovered the number as he had hair, and I checked the commentary but Aronofsky seems to want to leave the whole film to the imagination...

 

[Ricardo C]

The film is completely bizarre, and a second viewing is almost mandatory in order to make sense of it, but I enjoyed it immensely.

 

[Ben_@]

OK, I bought this movie a long time ago, and it is actually one of my favorite independant films.

to answer some questions:

to answer why he drills his head

He has nothing implanted in his head, at least not physically. The reason he drills into his head is because he is trying to destroy the last remnants of the number.

If you notice, he has diagrams of the human head and brain around his apartment, this is so that he can "safely" drill into his head and destroy only his memory.


As for the importance of the sun:

it is never really explained whether or not the sun caused the change in his brain, or what it was. But he stared into the sun and had a spiritual moment (though the main character doesn't acknowledge it as such). After that episode he was able to do very difficult equations in his head and became a math prodigy (as Saul explains).

As for the number itself:

it is a very long number, which the Kabalist Rabbis believe is the numerical name of god. Through this, the believe they can summon the savior and have heaven on Earth (supposedly). The corporation only wants Max's help and his knowledge to help them predict the stock market.

By the way, here's some of my insight into the film:

Saul, the name of Max's mentor is a biblical name. Saul saw god and was stricken blind. When Saul recovered, he changed his name to Paul and professed God's word until the day he died. This is similar to Saul having worked on the problem (a similar problem to the one Max was currently working on), and suffering a stroke due to the incredible stress of his research. When Saul goes back to continue his research(due to Max's encouragement), he suffers another stroke and dies.

i think this movie is very intense, and requires at least two (even three) viewings to "get." Its not a movie that simply explains everyhting, and I think that everyone gathers something different from it.

 

[Holadem]

What is the significance of "looking into the sun?"

Icarus?

--

H - Sun = Truth

 

[KevinRB]

Pi is one of my favorite movies of all time. I've watched it about five or six times, and still don't have explanations for all of it. That doesn't stop it from being awesome though...

IMHO...

When he stared at the sun as a kid, it affected his brain and gave him a unique ability to understand mathematics. As he got closer to discovering the number, he started losing other functions of his brain (i.e. sanity). Humans aren't meant to become omniscient, so it started cracking him just like it did with Saul.

At the climax, he can't take it any more so he drills out the part of the brain that gives him the unique ability. His mathematical reasoning is then greatly reduced, as shown by not being able to answer the little girl's questions.

 

[Frank Grimes]

I don't think anyone is questioning why he drilled into his head so much as why he already had a scar in the very spot...

 

[216216]

I believe he knew the answer all along. The little girl at the end knew it. We all do. Seeking it is a waste of time. Accepting that we all know it is serenity. At the end he was at peace. We are all god. god is all of us and everything and nothing at the same time. I would compare 2001 space oddysey. Also the work of Carl Jung.
Organised religion, mentors, physical desires and competition cannot help or prevent us knowing.
Defining god is irrelevant.
Our opinions are irrelevant.
The way we feel about what "is", eg the "1" or "216" or "gods name" is what makes us happy or sad, good or bad.
But is irrelevant to the truth.
I believe the truth is positive and makes me smile like max at the end.
The answer to "why" is "yes" .............Room with a view , 1980s.

 

[Jon Smith123]

Pi is a great movie.
The Bible tells us 'in death, all things shall be known to you'. If you learn these things while you are alive, it will burn your brain... you burn out. Kind of a fail-safe system for the universe. It is said Einstein had a last equation on his chalkboard that no one has ever been able to figure out. It's my assumption he achieved that moment of absolute clarity and all things were known to him by his equation. In his mortal coil, his mind couldn't process all the info... he burned out and died. Remember, only in death (per the Bible) can all things be known --- to achieve clarity is a death sentence.
Just my take, but I like the concept. Pi is a great movie.
Hu&^