Apr 20, 2005 01:37 PM
2275 Views
(Updated Apr 20, 2005 02:22 PM)
Imagine a nice, vibrant watercolor splashed on a handmade paper, resting on an easel to dry. You gaze at the slightly wet and glistening surface, admiring the artiste's touch when you suddenly imagine hearing a rustle and a slight motion on the paper. And then you realize, it isn't a static painting but a motion picture on a 25'', flatscreen TV. Well, that's how my experience had been when watching Big Fish.
Tim Burton has let his imagination rule the movie and boy! what an imagination he is blessed with.
Coming from Tim Burton, one would expect this to be a dark tale only to be disappointed. This is one of the MOST colorful movies in the recent times. The visuals reminded me of the eastman color movies from An American in Paris days. Once you watch the movie, you will know what I mean.
The movie switches between the present and the past of a family of four - Edward Bloom (Albert Finney, Ewan Mc Gregor as the young Edward), a father very much in love with his pretty wife (Jessica Lange), their son William (Billy Crudup) and his French wife. The son thinks that all his life, the father fed him everything but the truth about the father's past. Only fantastic lies about encountering giants, spiders, witches (who can see how and when one dies), an enchanted land, siamese twins (two heads but one pair of legs, as Edward put it) and, an extremely big fish and now. The story is (obviously) related by the son.
The father and son had not been speaking for 3 years after a confrontation at the son's wedding. The son was exasperated with the stories his father told him and the father was equally exasperated with the son's lack of faith in him. They meet again when Edward is in his death bed and the one last thing the son wants from him is, the truth.
One fine day, the son sits to sort the paraphernalia accumulated by his father over the years and discovers things that were always a part of the father's stories. He decides to discover the truth on his own and embarks on a journey to meet the people from the stories he took to be a figment of his father's imagination. And thereon, begins a spectacular story.
I don't know which genre to classify this under. Fantasy? Comedy? Drama? The movie relates everyday simple emotions in a very surreal manner without appearing stupid or going overboard with the fantasy element. Visually astounding, awesome performances by the cast.
I am crippled in spite of so many words. One has to experience the movie to know what a piece of art it is. Grab a DVD and experience Tim Burton's piece of art.
