I've never been head over heels in love with Pixar like most. For the life of me, I can't understand the legions of grown men who worship at the altar of these kiddie films. Extremely well constructed and exquisitely animated kiddie films of course, but kiddie films nonetheless. I suppose someone who unashamedly adores juvenile, brain dead action films like Fast Five or idiotic big budget monster romps like Wrath of the Titans shouldn't throw stones from his glass house. In any case, I entertain no illusions about what appeals to me and why. I usually enjoy the Pixar films well enough upon first viewing. Yet outside of the occasional re-watch with my son (who at 11 has outgrown most of them), I've never felt compelled to revisit the likes of Wall-E or Finding Nemo. I do think the Toy Story films are fantastic (especially the third), but I'm not exactly learning life lessons or looking at the world in a different light after watching them. Their thematic range is inherently limited due to who they are designed to appeal to. That us adults aren't pulling out our hair whilst enduring them is commendable, but not necessarily cause for ceaseless celebration.
Which brings me to Brave. I wouldn't say I was pulling my hair out while watching this on VOD, but it's certainly an insipid melange of boiler plate storytelling and aggressively unfunny physical comedy. The character arcs are predictable and unearned, the climax rushed and perfunctory. The animation is striking and top notch I've been told, yet to me looked repetitively samey in terms of backgrounds and irritatingly bulbous in the character design. I just can not abide that grotesque mockery of proportion modern animation is bewilderingly compelled to pass off as the human form. Not to belabor the point, but I did not care for this film whatsoever. It did nothing for me on any level and I'm mentioning it here merely to conform to my goal of documenting my impressions of all 2012 films I see. Now, I will never deign to consider it again.
Life of Pi, on the other hand, was a profoundly moving experience I will treasure forever. I hope to revisit it theatrically before its run ends and will certainly think fondly of it for the rest of my days. I've always enjoyed what I've seen from Ang Lee. Hell, I'm even a wary cheerleader for his deeply strange and singularly beautiful Hulk film. Unlike Hulk, Life of Pi, suffers from nary a narrative drawback. It's perfectly put together, with its introductory first third every bit as captivating and engrossing as its flashier, more dramatic shipwrecked-at-sea segments. Lee builds the character of Pi meticulously, expertly navigating the tricky conceit of casting no less than three different actors to portray him throughout his life. Thanks to the masterful direction and uniformly excellent performances, all 3 incarnations are likable and easy to relate to. I was absolutely swept away by the story of this intensely spiritual young man.
I don't dwell on plot points or spoilers in my reviews, preferring to let my general impressions do the talking. I implore any and all of my readers on the fence about this film, please give it a chance. I felt much the same way about this I did with Cloud Atlas, and similarly, it would break my heart to imagine true film lovers missing this on the big screen. The 3-D in Life of Pi is revelatory. It sucks you wholly into its world, making you feel the isolation and the wonder of Pi on his journey. The sound design is magnificent as well. Even though I saw it in a theater I've been to many times, I was sure they had turned on previously unused speakers, so startling was the range and finesse of the sound field. The visual palette is pure poetry, every scene melting dreamily into the next. Lee uses some of the transitional experimentation's he toyed with in Hulk to much greater effect here. It's remarkable to watch a genius director using state of the art technology and a sizable budget in the service of such a worthy story. This is precisely what the goal of motion picture art should be.
There's so many sequences in this film that I will never forget. The bone rattling intensity of the horrifying storms. The relationship building with Richard Parker, a beautifully and believably realized Bengal tiger. But the moment that had the strongest impact on me had nothing to do with 3-D, CGI or the brand spanking new Dolby Atmos sound experience. There is a scene when the action cuts back to the fully grown Pi (brilliantly portrayed by Irrfan Khan) narrating a particularly powerful moment in his story to a journalist. As he speaks, he openly weeps. There is no shame in this for him. No wiping away of the tears or averting of his eyes. He is at peace with himself and fully able to express his feelings in the presence of another man, let alone a human. Growing up in Western society with our ridiculously stringent interpretations of masculinity, I was moved to my core by this notion.
Life of Pi is a deluge of emotion, laughter and beauty. It opened my eyes to the detrimental damage done by years of nihilistic cynicism and emotional constipation. I'm not saying I'm ready to join 3 religions or change my diet or attempt any such forced transformation. Just that I was given a welcome reminder to embrace the beauty of life and the world a little more freely and try to express my feelings more openly. It's a gorgeous film, full of heart and magic.
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