The best picture of 2012. Maybe one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2013)

This comment should be prefaced, even though the given rating is a ten, with a strong reservation of mine about the minor element within the movie that is racially offensive, concerning the perpetration of a certain European stereotype. This film would be perfect without the unnecessarily implicit derogation, even though I have not read the book that is the subject of the adaptation.
Putting aside the complaint, Life of Pi, considering the totality of the story and visuals with everyone involved in the development and making of the movie, is a rare masterpiece. It is hard for me to explain why this is a masterpiece.
Suffice to say, this film inspired the range of emotions from mild amusement to incredulity to awe to empathetic introspection and, finally, ultimately moving.
The heart is the right place to tell the story in the adaptation of Yann Martel's fiction book, said to be unfilmable. This comes from the uncommonly professional direction by Ang Lee, who is unlike any other established filmmaker in terms of top-notch filmmaking expertise. (Except for his flat-out mediocre The Hulk, which should be forgotten as an embarrassing point of Lee's otherwise near-impeccable directing career.) The way Ang Lee expertly handled the adaptation with deft and superbly professional-caliber direction, without an iota of saccharinity and occasional sensationalism seen in the other established movie directors' movies (such as the shakily-shot and slightly overacted scenes to indicate tension and violence, which itself is a common cliché), from the beginning to the end, with the gentle guidance is astonishing in merit.
Ang Lee's gentle yet powerful in slow-burn sentimentality (the intended word was originally meaningful as the guide towards truth, until it carries the presently negative connotation; therefore, I meant the word only in the positive context as it was formerly intended) direction may remind of Terrence Malick's past and better films before The Tree of Life with similar subliminally emotive qualities combined with the majestic beauty of nature and humanistic storytelling.
I cannot explain precisely what the movie is really about, because deconstructing the movie is unnecessary, not to mention losing the meaning of the story. However, one thing is certain of the movie: it speaks to the humanity in us all, the attentive moviegoers.
The compassionate and superlative direction by Mr. Lee, who came from Taiwan in humble beginnings to become the master contemporary filmmaker, is incredible that stun some moviegoers to the speechless state with the misty eyes and mind blown at the visual-aural spectacle that seamlessly merge the uncommonly human storytelling.
There are some indescribable scenes that enlighten, move and astonish, assisted by the magical fusion of VFX and cinematography. This is why we go to the movies, as the participants in the filmmakers' vision that conveys the rare sentimentality, without a care for cynicism that pervade this rapidly changing world.
The team effort that made this film, with Oscar-winning visual effects (the sadly bankrupted and bought-out in auction VFX house Rhythm & Hues), musical score and cinematography, has produced the uncommon (that is, a deliberately mature movie yet is not offensive with strong or moderate content such as sensationalistic violence, casual nudity, and profanity & vulgarity, with the rare PG rating assigned to non-childish movies) masterpiece in the 21st century cinema, outside the typical and frequently cynical art-house fare.
Considering the uncommonly amazing quality of the movie, Ang Lee deserves his second Oscar for Best Direction. Because, above all, he has guided Life of Pi to the full spectrum of narrative cinema richness, like the rarely scrumptious fine dining produced by the master chef and the entourage of sous chef, prep cook, and pastry chef, and has respectfully given the gift to the audience to partake in the visual-aural feast.
Being a stone-hearted cynic, Life of Pi speaks to the humanity in me, and this moved me immeasurably, without resistance.
I regret that I skipped the movie because of the teaser trailer with the cheesy-looking CGI tiger shown before the movie Prometheus in 3-D format. I was mystified how long The Life of Pi remained in theatres in the first-run theatres even after the home video release.
Then I rented the movie on Blu-ray from Redbox, after feeling bored over the weekend, searching for a movie that doesn't look like sleazy Hollywood and direct-to-video trash.
One phrase should stand by that one cannot judge the cover of the book. I judged the teaser trailer and waited until home video for my discovery that unlock the fantastical world of cinema.
Henceforth, Life of Pi is a masterpiece, yet to be discovered by more people as the word of mouth spread how incredible the movie is. A hard-weathered cynic who says he is not touched by the movie occasionally and at the end will always have the heart of stone.