Review of Big Fish (2003) by Niels T — 16 Nov 2012

"It's a good film, so watch it.".

Now, there's story telling and then there's story telling. And this is the latter. The film is a character study, that of Mr. Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregror young; Albert Finney old). As the story unfolds, Ed Bloom does as a very talkative person with a lot of imagination, and a man not very reliable as it comes to truth. It's a very distressing manner for a seemingly kind man, and that's exactly why his closest relative do not like the man. Edward's son William (Billy Crudup) is the spindle that unwinds his father's stories, and starts the tale.

It's easily understood for someone who knows a man that's like Bloom, that irritating jibber-jabber, cockiness we reckon, but no! this movie says. It's not lying, it's not trying to be cool, no. This movie shows us what such a man is, a Lewis Carroll, a Hayoa Miyazaki, a Tim Burton. But nothing to display it on, nothing that catches their story. Nothing better, at least, than their voice and charisma. This is not a man of arrogance, but of fantasy and nowhere to put it. That's what I think it is, when you were wondering where this film was going.

Now that you know, you can remember this film again as something stunningly beautiful. In its beauty the film rolls without insignificant artifacts whatever, and necessary remainders come in subtle, but then of course it's a story crafted a long time ago, polished and refined through a lifetime. Maybe less refined is Burton's dreaming, but then of course, that's dreaming. Anyway, it's a good film, significant, perhaps, not so much for a desperate film-lover, but very cute for a people-lover, so watch it.