A great cinematic journey

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2004)

I haven't read Daniel Wallace's novel yet, but the film reminded me of a fairy tale -- albeit much abbreviated -- version of Thomas Wolfe's "Look Homeward Angel" in that you're not moved so much by huge plot points or revelations, but by the beauty of the somewhat ordinary yet strangely huge stories Finney's character spun. I suppose I was also moved by the father-son relationship since I've been estranged from my own father for some time. On top of that I saw this a few days before Xmas, which is a very emotional time of year for me (not a fan of the holidays with all its commercialism and my emotions seem more intense then for some reason).
On its own, the film is technically well made and wonderfully easy to watch -- there are the surrealistic touches you expect from a Tim Burton movie, but they're not over-the-top or accentuated like in his past movies, and I think that's why some rank BIG FISH lower in comparison to his other films. Fair enough.
But in comparison to all the other films I've seen this year (I go to the movies at least two times a month), this was the one rare time in 2003 where I felt like I was "IN" the movie, not staring at my watch -- and the ending just blew me away -- it's very simple yet captivating. I once had a dream that my life would end in a similar fashion, so again, my reaction to this movie is filtered through my own experience. Yours may be different. I still think this is one of 2003's best movies and you'd be remiss to pass it up.