"Big Fish" Talkback (Spoilers)

[MAXIMUS]

An adventure as big as life itself.
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/153/501837.jpg
"There are some fish that can't be caught. It's not that they're bigger or faster then the other fish, they're just touched by something extra." -Young Edward Bloom

Release Date: December 10, 2003 (NY, LA, Toronto; wider release: December 25; wide release: January 9)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Billy Crudup, Alison Lohman, Hailey Anne Nelson, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillarcd

Plot Summary: In the heartwarming film "Big Fish," director Tim Burton ("Batman," 'Edward Scissorhands") brings his inimitable imagination on a journey that delves deep into a fabled relationship between a father and his son. Edward Bloom (Finney) has always been a teller of tall-tales about his oversized life as a young man (McGregor), when his wanderlust led him on an unlikely journey from a small-town in Alabama, around the world, and back again. His mythic exploits dart from the delightful to the delirious as he weaves epic tales about giants, blizzards, a witch and conjoined-twin lounge singers. With his larger-than-life stories, Bloom charms almost everyone he encounters except for his estranged son Will (Crudup). When his mother Sandra (Lange) tries to reunite them, Will must learn how to separate fact from fiction as he comes to terms with his father's great feats and great failings.

Visit the Official Movie Site here (http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/bigfish)

Buy the movie! (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001GOH6Q/toonzone03/)

Comments?

I saw this a little while ago and thought it was awesome so I decided to wait a while until it was in wider release to do a talkback.

[TheEvilClown]

I saw this Tuesday and its a very good movie. Very acceptable for a Best Picture!

[Barb Gordon]

Enchanting.
Another fascinating masterpeice for Burton. I am absolutely stunned at the turnout to the theaters for this film. Most people seem nervous around a Tim Burton film, but people seem to be flooding to the theaters to see this - course it not being open everywhere yet makes it even more difficult and busy. I went yesterday to see it and it was sold out by the time these two girls in front of me got to the ticket window. So my mom and I opted to stay for the later showing at 7:40, as were other people. We ended up camping out at Barnes and Noble for the almost three hour gap before the next showing (we spent more time in there than in the actual movie!). Then we went back to the theater at 7 since they said seats would go fast, they weren't kidding. With 40 minutes to go before even previews started, we were just lucky enough to find seats. Other people who came later took one look and had to leave because there were no seats left.
As for the actual movie, I loved it. So very Burton, yet those wary of his work should still feel very comfortable. It's a very loving and touching story. I cried, but only because some of the scenes touched daringly close to things I've experienced. That's how it was for another friend of mine. The movie deals with death in such a beautiful and unusual way, and I think anyone whose been affected by death in some way will be struck with this film. I hope it gets open to all theaters soon, so that it isn't such a darned hassle to see it. If you've got two hours to spare, this is certainly a movie to check out.

~Barb

[Colin]

Saw this today... what an amazing work! Burton at his finest!

The imagery was amazing, the integration of the flashbacks into the movie worked nicely, and an overall story that EVERYONE can truly relate to (cause we've all got the Storyteller in our lives, be it a parent, grandparent, whateva...) An overall wonderful tale of personal growth and that point when we need to start trying to determine the real from the fantastic only and how to determine the difference...

It's definitely well worth the price of admission. Wouldn't mind seeing it again.

[Damien]

Finally, Big Fish has opened here. Just got back from seeing it.
Loved it. Not alot better than I expected, but no less. It's a Burton film, so I already expected it to be fantastic. Acting, imagery, score...jolly good fun.

[IamBatman]

I just got home from seeing Big Fish today.

In my town these kinds of films seem to get easily overlooked.. The theatre i was in had only 15 people i think.. though this may be due to it was at 1:30pm on a saturday... not really sure.

I found this to be the strongest of any of Tim Burtons films.. good plot, good characterisation, and beautiful filming. i hope this film is nomintated for Best Picture.. should be tim's time in the spotlight now.

This film seemed to carry an emotional depth i haven't felt in any of his prior work. It could be for me being only 16. as most of his films seem to deal with the Son having problems.. this one having the father as the focus allowed me to relate..and quite possibly everyone else who doesn't have kids.. because everyone else obviously has had some father figure in their life.

Im afraid by trying to say anymore i won't do justice to this beautiful piece of work. so my only other thing to say about it is to see it for yourself if you haven't already because i don't think anyone can convey how truly impressive this film is through the simple use of words.

[Lord Dalek]

Pretty good overall, but Mars Attacks! will always be my favorite Tim Burton film.

[Weatherman]

4.5 stars. Lost that half due to some shody effects work from time to time.

A perfectly whimsical movie. Just flows like a good old fashioned yarn, heh. :)
Superb performances by all parties, especially Albert Finney. I hope he gets a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role as it would be righly deserved. You never can tell what's real and what's not quite real. Burton really draws you in right from the get go and lets it unfold like a toy wrapped in tissue paper. One little layer at a time till the wonderful climax. Well done Mr. Burton. Can't wait to see what that quirky mind of yours has next for us.

[Discloner]

I went to see this with friends tonight, and I've gotta say its definetly one of the top movie's I've seen in 03.

Wait...it's 04...

Fine then, I wouldn't have it any other way then for Big Fish to be the first movie I saw in 2004. It was just a great movie...and I'd hate to get into specifics and ruin the whole thing for the lot of you. So I won't.

I will say that it's emotional roller coaster of a movie. You'll laugh, Think, Be happy and Sad.....and.....if you get the movie.....you'll cry. >.> <.<

This plot, mixed in with numerous narrated stories (the father's stories) by various people help explain it further and in a unique way that kept you guessing. I'll even go so far as to swallow my pride and say I teared up towards the end. (I'm Just a sucker for a movie where the parental figure passes away in the end...should have seen me when watching AI:Artificial Intelligence)

I definetly recommend it! Storytelling about Storytelling at its finest!:D

[Zoddman]

Beautiful, beautiful film.

I actually cried at the end, which I was very surpised at myself for. Really lovely story, great acting too. 4 1/2 stars.

[Mynd Hed]

I thought this movie was cute, but overrated. Often whimsical, occasionally amusing, but I had a hard time taking the "serious" subplot, well, seriously. The son character was too whiny for me to empathize with him-- I can see being a little annoyed with your dad if he refuses to ever be serious, but c'mon, not speaking to him for THREE YEARS just because he has one too many drinks and tells a story at your wedding? That's going WAY overboard.

From a filmmaking perspective, it really was a neat movie in the same way most of Tim Burton's films tend to be, but from a storytelling perspective it could've used some work. Personally, if they felt the need to make it a "frame" story-- which I do think was a good idea given the need to "ground" the tall tale aspects-- I wished they would've kept the scenes in the quote-unquote "real" world (as opposed to the world of the father's tall tales) a little more charming and lighthearted a la Princess Bride. It just seemed like the "real-world" scenes were a desperate plea to be taken seriously in a film for whom being taken seriously is the worst thing that could possibly happen.

Overall Grade: C+

[Colin]

I thought this movie was cute, but overrated. Often whimsical, occasionally amusing, but I had a hard time taking the "serious" subplot, well, seriously. The son character was too whiny for me to empathize with him-- I can see being a little annoyed with your dad if he refuses to ever be serious, but c'mon, not speaking to him for THREE YEARS just because he has one too many drinks and tells a story at your wedding? That's going WAY overboard.
Well, the interpretation I got was that the falling out with his father happened because the son always felt that his father was never telling him the truth...about anything. After a while, the frustration gets overwhelming and you're bound to snap; as he did with his wedding when his father told the fish story for the umpteen-thousandth time. There comes a pooint when enough is enough, and it seemed that day was when the son had enough.

It wasn't because of a drink and a story that they drifted apart, it ultimately was because they were two completely different people. The father was someone who's stories were always alive and full of imagination. They kept the "audience" entertained. The son went with the straight and narrow, telling things how they are, no matter how boring they may seem. That, I believe, is where the falling out came from.

[Mynd Hed]

Well, the interpretation I got was that the falling out with his father happened because the son always felt that his father was never telling him the truth...about anything. After a while, the frustration gets overwhelming and you're bound to snap; as he did with his wedding when his father told the fish story for the umpteen-thousandth time. There comes a pooint when enough is enough, and it seemed that day was when the son had enough.

It wasn't because of a drink and a story that they drifted apart, it ultimately was because they were two completely different people. The father was someone who's stories were always alive and full of imagination. They kept the "audience" entertained. The son went with the straight and narrow, telling things how they are, no matter how boring they may seem. That, I believe, is where the falling out came from.
I do understand that, and yes, what I said in my post was an oversimplification, but still. There are lots of things I don't like about my father, some of them comparable to the son's problem with his father in this film, but I still see him as often as I can and I still love him, because he's my father. Most of us grow out of the "my father is the stupidest human being in the world" phase around the same time we get out of our teens, and the fact that the character in the film is so obsessive-compulsive about it instead of just learning to let it go really made it hard for me to care about him. I really just wanted to slap him and tell him to lighten up. (-:

I pretty much agreed with everything Roger Ebert said in his review (http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/cst-ftr-fish24f.html). Which is kind of surprising, since generally I think that Roger Ebert has just been watching too many movies for too long to appreciate them for the fun and joy of watching them instead of whether they can stand up to in-depth overanalysis. (There are exceptions, though-- I also very much agreed with his excellent review of Peter Pan.)

[Phantasm]

What a beautiful film!Heartwarming indeed.:)

5/5

[Sharklady]

I also liked this movie very much. It passes seamlessly though so many moods, always with a positive message at the center (the son learns to regard his father's yarn-spinning as forgivable, even joyous, & spins a tall tale of his own as a parting gift.)

And, Pearl Jam's 'Man Of The Hour' provided the perfect musical capper.