A son tries to separate fantasy from truth in order to find out who his father is

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2007)

Ed Bloom (Albert Finney), a larger-than-life kind of guy, has always told miraculous stories about his life where fantasy and reality are seemingly interwoven. This has lead to years of alienation from his son Will (Billy Crudup) who feels he never heard the real stories and who doesn't appreciate his father's fantastic tales. When Ed Bloom is on his deathbed, his son returns. Feeling like he never knew his father, he hopes to separate the lies and fantasy in his stories from the truth, hoping to find the true person underneath the tall-tales.
In the movie, Edward Bloom recounts stories from his life. We see the younger Edward Bloom (mostly played by Ewan McGregor) as the main character of these fantastic tales. There are many themes in this movie as they vary with the story being told, but the main theme is the relationship between father and son as his son rediscovers and comes to terms with who his father is.
It's a heart warming, adventurous, funny movie where fantasy and reality go hand in hand and the possible is as likely as the impossible.
To me, this is Tim Burton at his best. Warmly recommended!