Now here'a film that is "not for all tastes," as the cliché goes.

"Strange" doesn't quite cover it but it is not that bizarre that you can't figure out what's happening. Director-writer Darren Arokofsky made a name for himself with his second movie, Requiem For A Dream, and this was the young filmmakers' first effort. It was made a tight budget since he was an unknown, but that's part of the attraction. This is grainy black-and-white, and so is the gritty story and most of the characters. The unique look fits the story.

It's not a story that is going to please a lot of people - an almost-demented math wizard trying to figure out stock market codes and two groups hounding him trying to cash in on his brainpower. One is trying to use him to make big money in the market and the other is trying to decipher ancient Jewish texts and thinks our mathematician can help. Meanwhile, he wants no part of any of these people.

Our hero, the numbers freak, thinks the entire world revolves around numbers. Everything in the universe, he thinks, can be figured out through number codes. Not only is he wacked and paranoid but so is about everyone in here. They all have strange ideas. Innovative camera-work makes the story even stranger. In fact, it's that photography that makes this DVD a part of my collection

If you're looking for something different here and there, I would give this curiosity piece a quick look. (It's not a long movie.) Overall, I thought this "added up" to an intriguing film, but if you give it a try and hate it, don't blame me.

A tiring, slightly pretentious indie flick which makes up for its lack of budget with plenty of imagination on the part of writer/director Darren Aronofsky, who mingles such diverse topics as Jewish religion, complex mathematics, Greek mathematicians, mental illness, and Wall Street into a quirky and unpredictable whole. Although the film shares some of the same style and hyper-kinetic energy as something like TETSUO, generally it's a watchable enough movie with strong acting from lead Sean Gullette to make it worth sitting through. The heavy subject of complex number theory and advanced mathematics is an off-putting one, but don't be because the maths stuff is explained for those who aren't good with figures and generally skipped over anyway, shown without being too complex.

PI takes in various elements from different genres. The idea that numbers can explain the universe is nothing but straight science fiction (or is it?) whilst there are many surrealist touches like the train station interlude where Gullette chases along a trail of blood only to discover a huge brain - his own - at the end of the line. The various moments in which he experiences horrendous migraines are pretty disturbing to watch, with the soundtrack full of ear-splitting screeches and upsetting visuals on screen (Gullette brains himself, and smashes his head into a wall repeatedly). The intense music used throughout the film adds to the experience and the visual look is made distinctive by some grainy black and white photography.

On the downside, the ending is abrupt and something of a foregone conclusion. I was left thinking "was that it?". PI is a film that is deliberately complex and attempts to lose the viewer at every turn, and I don't think any person would be capable of understanding what everything means throughout. Sure, it's different, about 180 degrees from standard predictable Hollywood fare, but does this necessarily make it a good movie? I think not. It's original and the guys who made it were obviously talented, but this is not the masterpiece some people seem to think it is (all I heard about this were rave reviews for four years until I actually saw it).

"Pi" is an amazing independent films. Darren Aronofsky had never made a feature film and was barely able to scrape together the $60,000 needed to make this film. Despite this pitifully small budget, he managed to make a remarkably watchable film AND it caught the eyes of the 'big boys'--and soon he was given $1,000,000 for his film! While not quite as insanely successful as "The Blair Witch Project" (which came out the following year),unlike the filmmakers of this other project, Aronofsky has gone on to greater things--including the wildly successful and critically acclaimed "Black Swan" as well as "The Wrestler".

Describing the look of the film is VERY difficult. Sure, it's cheap but Aronofsky managed to get past this by using black & white and deliberately making the print very grainy--giving it a wonderfully surreal look. I am not exactly sure how he did this but it worked well. And, because he wasn't able to use top equipment, it has a bit of a homemade look--which I was able to look past. Much of this was because the plot was so wild and surreal as well as very stylish.

Describing the plot...well that's even MORE difficult! It's a strange tale about a man who is on the edge of losing his mind. He is convinced that everything in nature and life can be quantified and explained through mathematics. And, given that you can find the correct mathematical formula, you can predict and understand EVERYTHING. So Maximillian spends nearly every second of his waking day devoted to this all-encompassing task. He avoids relationships, is very unkempt and is a miserable excuse for a human being. And, eventually it all begins to take its toll as he begins to hallucinate and experiencing excruciating pain in his body and brain. What's next for this incredibly strange man with his seemingly impossible task? See the film!

This is a very, very difficult film to rate. It gets very high marks for originality and it is entertaining. However, it's NOT a film for the mainstream. The average Joe would probably find it all just too weird and too confusing. But, if you want something different and are patient, it's well worth seeing.