Not since I was Four years old...

When I saw Fantasia the first time I felt the way I did today, seeing Life of Pi. I went with some new Korean friends. The 14 year old, "Julia," is in one of my classes. Her English, along with the rest of her family's, is superb, since they recently returned from living in Canada for years. Sharing many ideals, and with the language barrier removed, we've decided we need to start hanging out together. I'm thankful that our first outing was to see this incredible film. I'm listening to the movie trailer sound track while I write.

Last week I didn't know to purchase tickets ahead of time, so the Life of Pi was sold out. Les Miserables was sold out too. I chose something else with my Cambodian friend, Ahnkheng, based on its star-studded cast. Forgetting how it had really Earned its R rating and a dismissive review from my son (who's movie tastes are the only ones I trust), and desperate to not waste a bus trip to Jinju, we saw Cloud Atlas instead. Ugh. It's a film that tried desperately to impress and amaze, but only succeeded, in my opinion, with those who have only a partial grasp of the English language, and don't know when they're being purposefully manipulated by an immature story. All the bells and whistles were there--with extra helpings of violence and sex, like it or not. But there was no revelation, no point...I'm sure there are many who will argue with me on that, but what else is new? Nothing in Cloud Atlas.

Today's Life of Pi, on the other hand, took my breath away, moved me to cry for the departure of a tiger and all he represented, and to believe that anything and everything remains possible through faith and gritty determination. I've always been fascinated by animals and no film has ever managed to meet and exceed my hunger to watch them up-close.

I've always known tigers were beautiful, but not like I know it now. The movie is about a whole lot more than animals, but the wonder and awe of this movie, on every conceivable level, will, if I'm lucky, haunt me from this day forward.

I'm a cynical/optimist. I've become jaded toward most of what the world offers up in the name of imagination. It's difficult for a movie to even meet, much-less exceed my expectations. I saw the visual beauty in The Hobbit, but shuddered at it's cliche ridden execution--such a horrible disappointment.

I love that book! It took a significant lack of talent to mess up such great raw material. And Avatar's an applauded film I've never actually succeeded in stomaching an entire viewing of. Seeing comparisons of Life of Pi to Avatar on the internet is an insult. Avatar is nothing more than a colorfully rendered telling of a horribly predictable, politically charged plot, which arouses no sense of real wonder, unless you mute the thing and wipe the judgmental, smug and/or stupid expressions off of the CG animated characters.

I know, I know. Many people adore these films. The optimist in me WANTED TO. I really, really did, so I tried. Repeatedly. But to no avail. The Life of Pi, breaks away from every trendy norm, to completely, quietly, and powerfully tell its own story. Secure in its message, viewers are left free to interpret and take away for themselves from a rich banquet of images and messages. The cinematography astonishes and elevates without cheaply resorting to shocking and/or revolting the viewer. In every way, missing the Life of Pi is on par with missing a valuable experience. It's a story worth seeing and hearing--again and again. Who knew anything could so thoroughly restore my sense of wonder in a matter of minutes and raise my heart to flights of nearly forgotten fancy by the end? The optimist in me feels recognized, validated and encouraged to thrive.