Just believe it's possible

Is it possible to combine an incredible world of fantasy with such a realistic story that could be yours and have success? Yes, Tim Burton did it, and the result is called Big Fish.

“Telling the story of my father’s life is impossible to separate de fact from the fiction, the man from the myth”.

After these lines you must have noticed that I have enjoyed the film, and I will try to explain you my reasons. But first of all, I should give you some objective information about the film, a screen version of the novel “Big Fish” which was released in 2003 and was a box office hit, earning $122 million worldwide.

The plot revolves around a men, Edward Bloom, who loves telling incredible stories about his own life, and his son, Will, who tries to understand his father and just wants to discover the hidden truth about his real father’s life.

Most of us know Tim Burton because of films like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Mars Attack or The Planet of the Apes, and we are used to his extravagant style. But it is a great surprise to discover that he is able to present a really touching story and, the most incredible for me, in such a realistic way. His own father died two years before starting to record this film and this was like a therapy for him, he left a part of himself on it, something very personal, and you realize when you watch the film. He shows both stances:

Edward (Albert Finney / Ewan McGregor) is the central character and he is so charming that everybody (even the audience) loves him, and through his experiences we meet a men full of determination and ready to change the world. He is an enterprising man, and we all like brave people like him (because we want to be brave too). That is why he is connected with the viewer.

On the other hand, we can also see the son’s point of view, who just wants to hear a normal story about his father, the real one. During the film he realize that these stories that he did not want to hear were the truth that he was expecting, just a little bit decorated with a touch of magic, what in fact is the reflect of his father’s personality: he wanted to remember his life as something marvellous, a life to be proud of and living after death on that memory.

And this is the key of the film and why it is so moving: everybody has a father and knows how it feels like when you do not understand him or he does not understand you. The story invites us to believe that we can live our life as we want and, if things do not happen as we want, we just need imagination.

To summarize, I really recommend you this film because it has excited me and it has made me think, cry and laugh. What else can you ask for?

Best things about the film: The main actors are great, but Steve Buscemi as the poet from Spectre is really amusing, and also Danny DeVito as the circus ringmaster. Good photography, incredible soundtrack even better script.

Warning: if you do not like fantasy cinema you might not enjoy this film (at least not as much as I did).

I would like to write some memorable quotes, but there are so many that I have chosen a funny one:

“Amos Calloway: Tell me, Karl, have you ever heard the term "involuntary servitude"?
Karl: No.
Amos Calloway: "Unconscionable contract"?
Karl: Uh, nope.
Amos Calloway: Great!”