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Big Fish

Big Fish is an enchanting and whimsical treat for the whole family to experience. Delightfully entertaining, beautifully filmed, and heartwarming, this film is an amazing journey of Daniel Wallace's novel, so spectacularly directed by Tim Burton. Big Fish touches on fantasy, adventure, heroics, and the love and importance of a family.

Big Fish is story telling at one of its finest. A movie so full of magic, innocence, feeling, and vision. I am a fan of Tim Burton and have been for some time now. Big Fish is an exceptional movie that shows cases so much of this man's creativity.

The story of Big Fish is quite simple. Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) returns home to spend what little time he has left with his dying father Edward (Albert Finney) after not speaking with him for three years and to give support to his mother Sandra (Jessica Lange). Will needs to find out the truth about who his father really is. As a boy he was told many stories of how his father, when he was a young man (played by Ewan McGregor) lived his life. Those stories, far fetched as they may have seemed, were believed way past Will's adult years and now he wants to know why so many lies about his father's life were told to him and others repeatedly and so proudly.

Big Fish is a story upon a story upon a story. So many outrageous, scary, and exciting stories unfold. Those stories are amusing, clever, eerie, and warming to the soul. But, are those stories real or just fables told so many times that they indeed become more of a work of non-fiction than just a make believe story told to amuse the listener?

In a scene, one of my particular favorites is when Ed Bloom covers the ground in Daffodils to show the deep love he has for Sandra ( this time played terrifically by Alison Lohman). A gorgeous moment in Edward's life that depicted an overwhelming amount of courage and sensitivity without a flicker of doubt in what he set out to accomplish so eloquently. A stunning view of golden yellow sunshine sitting on green grass looked so beautiful, but most importantly, the beauty was shown from inside of his heart.

I was so moved, happy, tearful, and overjoyed by this film. It touched me with its loving and all around good feeling message of expression ones self though ways that teach, nurture, guide, encourage, dream, and most of all show how strong love can be.

The question remaining, is Will going to get the answers he has been searching for from his father, or have they been there all along, just not believed to be anything but a work of fantasy? And will Edward be able to pass down to his son, one of his traits that had made him the man he said he was all along?

Danny Elfman was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score. I think Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, and Tim Burton were highly overlooked for Oscar nominations. They were all exceptional! As was the cast in general, all helping to contribute something wonderful to this marvelous movie.

There are plenty of DVD extras, such as a fun trivia quiz, which I certainly played and happily did well at, 3 Tall Tales on the Making of Big Fish, commentary by Tim Burton, and so much more! It's a great compliment to the movie.

The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of oldies, but goodies and today's music. Songs include Man of the Hour by Pearl Jam, Everyday by Buddy Holly, All Shook Up by Elvis Presley, Five O’clock World by The Vogues.

With such memorable stories, including the three roles played by Helena Bonham Carter as a young and old " Jenny" and as "The Witch," Matthew McGrory as "Karl the Giant," Steve Buscemi as " Norther Winslow," the outrageously funny Danny DeVito as " Amos Calloway," a kindhearted performance by Robert Guillaume as " Dr. Bennett," and Ada and Arlene Tai as " Ping and Jing."

Big Fish, I think, is already destined to be a classic.

Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean

Reviewers Rating: 9
Reader's Rating: 8.36
Reader's Votes: 22

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