The Modern Fairy-Tale

Rating: Null/10 (27 September 2007)

Tim Burton continues to prove himself as a creative genius in Big Fish. His imagination is realized in the form of magical creatures and fairytale plot lines as a young man, Will Bloom, embarks on a journey in an attempt to capture the essence of his terminally-ill father's (Ed Bloom's)life.
Unsatisfied with the stories his father had told him about his young life, Will had severed all ties with his father, believing that such stories were for children, and he was no longer a child. When his mother (Sandra Bloom) had notified him of his father's condition, Will and his wife Josephine come to make a final visit, and even on his death bed, Ed continues to tell his son the same stories, and Will continues to feel the disappointment of being lied to, which inspires him to find the truth for himself.
In a colorful, magical world of circus creatures, Ed befriends werewolves and giants, finds and pursues the love of his life, and strays from the beaten path more than once, which inspires those who watch the movie to rise above the typical and make their own world a fantasy land.
The underlying clichÃ© of a "big fish in a small pond" is what leads to the touching culmination of the film when, as Ed is about to die, Will carries his body to the pond, where he swims away and, as if to say a final goodbye, leaps into the air as an enormous fish before the funeral scene begins. The symbolism is almost too much; the wonder it stirs about if after death there's a larger pond for everyone is enough to leave one to reflect on his own life.