Once upon a time.......the storyteller's story. Review on Big Fish Movie

Director : Tim Burton

Cast: Ewan Mc Gregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Billy Crudup.

Is truth stranger than fiction? Does the real need to be credible? What is real?

A young man, preparing to go to his wedding, is annoyed by his father?s recounting of a story - which is being told for the umpteenth time. But the girl who is listening to it, is all ears. At the wedding dinner too, his father?s story is being retold, much to the delight of the guests.

The story is an incredible one ? about how his father attempted to catch the Big Fish in his native place as a young man and how he had always failed. ?The Beast?, as he calls it, is an impressive monster. But then his father succeeds in catching it by using the most incongruous bait one could think of.

And so, his father moralises, to catch the uncatchable (like the woman you want to marry) you must use this precise bait.

Like the fish, you are hooked. Albert Finney as the old Edward Bloom and Ewan Mc Gregor as the younger one essay the role of the story-teller.

Diagnosed with cancer, Edward Bloom is bed-ridden. His son and pregnant daughter-in-law come to visit. The son (played by Billy Crudup) resents the fact that his father?s life is a mystery to him since he has always received an exaggerated, mythical version of it. Wishing to at last ?understand? him, he approaches him again. But his wife is enchanted. She happily listens to his stories, encouraging him to speak about his life. And so the story of Edward Bloom?s life unfolds.

His life is peopled by a witch, a giant, a hick town of which he is the ?hero?, a secret community, singing Siamese twins, a werewolf ?.

The stories of how he leaves his town, how he meets and marries his wife are all imbued with the magic of the unusual. But what touches us is the sincerity of the storyteller. We come to share his beliefs slowly but surely.

In an audacious sweep, the story covers life and all the beauty it stands for. You start by thinking that you are amusing yourself by the denial of reality. You are left wondering if reality isn?t after all magic. You are led into a truly beautiful world and like a child, you love the storyteller for bringing it to you.

Director Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks) should be credited with imparting credibility to such a tall tale. The story of course is an appealing one. But telling it through a visual medium would be a daunting task for anyone. Somehow, giving a real face to a fantasy, robs the audience of the chance to give it free-rein in their imagination.

Which is why many brilliantly written books have fared badly in their movie avatars. But in this film, the suggested is left at that stage ? dangling mid-air and spicing everything with mystery. The film is so full of surprises that one can hardly say anything about a specific scene without ruining it for the viewer.

Ewan Mc Gregor as the young Bloom is neither handsome nor dashing in the traditional sense of those words. As he quips, what he is, is ?social?. Which means Everyone and his aunt are rooting for him. When he is raking up elephant droppings in the circus, when he is smiling in triumph after being beaten to a bloody pulp, when he is reluctantly robbing a bank, you want him to win.

Albert Finney as the older Bloom is darned (excuse the succeeding expression) ?cute?. I know, I know that is a four-letter word. It is just that there is no other way of describing him. His conversations with his daughter-in-law look so inviting, you want to plop yourself on his bedside chair and listen to him spell out his past.

Jessica Lange as the mom has not much to do. But I would not say she is wasted. She adds in the way all great actors do to a movie, even when they do not have a well-defined character. She suggests the happiness of her life with her husband without saying a word.

One of the most charming aspects of the film is the cinematography. The scary, the beautiful, the languid and the magical are all captured with assurance.

The climax, when the son spins a yarn of his own, is breathtaking. You are left thinking - ''and that's how it's done''.

So do yourself a favour and go wallow in some magic.