No. 37 - Big Fish (2003)

An Adventure As Big As Life Itself.

Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance-age 13) for nudity

Director: Tim Burton; Screenplay: John August; based on the novel by Daniel Wallace

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Danny DeVito

Movie Introduction: When Edward Bloom (Finney) becomes ill, his son, William (Crudup), travels to be with him. Their father-son relationship has been strained, primarily because Edward always talked about his life using exaggerated stories. William, now an adult, just wants the truth about these so-called adventures. Even on his deathbed, Edward recounts fantastical anecdotes, usually recalling his life as a young man (McGregor). William, now a journalist, starts to investigate his father's tales, and he begins to understand the man and his penchant for storytelling.   

Defining Moment: daffodils

When Edward finally learns that Sandra Templeton attends Auburn University, he travels there and follows her for many days. He learns that she is engaged to Edward's childhood acquaintance (and neighborhood bully), Don. To earn her favor, Edward learns that Sandra loves daffodils. During the night the daring optimist plants thousands of the bright yellow flowers right outside her dorm room window. When Don finds out about the deed, he brutally beats up Edward. This causes Sandra to break off the engagement and eventually marry Edward. Edward's beating was worth it!

Something subtle you might have missed:  the hanging shoes of Spectre

So what do the shoes, hanging at the town of Spectre's main entrance, symbolize? The question can be extended to also include the meaning behind this strange little hamlet. I feel that Spectre symbolizes a heavenly place, where all your needs are met. So it stands to reason that a person would never want to leave. That's why you throw your shoes over the wire - 'cause you ain't leavin'.  The problem is Edward. He sees struggle as a blessing, and that too much comfort breeds complacency. A place like that, no matter how tempting, will not suit a man with places to go and things to do.  

Memorable Quotes:

"It was that night I discovered that most things you consider evil or wicked are simply lonely, and lacking in the social niceties." - Young Edward Bloom

"There's a time when a man needs to fight, and a time when he needs to accept that his destiny is lost... the ship has sailed and only a fool would continue. Truth is... I've always been a fool." – Edward Boom

Dad's Review:

Much has been written and filmed about the relationship between men and their fathers. It goes back, well literally, to the beginning of man.

My father left when I was five. He moved 25 miles away to Abilene, Texas. He paid child support and I was supposed to have regular visits with him and his new wife. My mom decided to move to El Paso, ten hours away. After that I was lucky to see my father once a year. He was not my father in any real sense of the word. He was just a man I visited. His new wife, Dean, was a woman I was trained to hate. I liked him enough, but my deepest love was reserved for Mom.

Through the years, our thin relationship improved. I got married and had kids of my own. From Pennsylvania, we’d travel to Texas every summer. We'd stay with Mom, and work in a visit to Dad and Dean. They were in their late 70's, and I think my oldest was a little too much for them, but things were OK, and they were very sweet.

Only once did Dad and I ever talk about the divorce. He said that he just could not stay in the marriage, blaming most of it on my mother's over-bearing parents. I do agree that there was some fault there – they did not treat their two son-in-laws (and by extension their two daughters) like their own sons. Was that fair? I don’t think so. My Texas relatives just hate to give up anything, and that includes money-grubbing son-in-laws. So, what was the end result? Two men who felt like their wives are not being treated fairly. That certainly existed in my family. 

As a consequence, I believe, somewhere along the way, Dad just checked out and mentally moved on.  He gave up on farming, started his own TV repair business in Abilene. At some point, he started secretly seeing Dean. After that, it was only a matter of time.

So, from all this, you should gather that I did not have an idyllic relationship with my father. From talking to many folks my age, they have shared the same experience, even in non-divorced homes. Wow.

Fathers back then were different. They went to work. They kept their distance. They came home, read the paper in peace and went to bed. The business of raising the kids belonged to mothers alone, most of whom did not work outside the home. My wife related the same atmosphere in her home. Her dad was deployed to Vietnam and Korea. Yet he never had a conversation, with one of his 11 children, about his experiences in the service. Her father, though a great provider, didn't often communicate things about his life.

This brings me to our film, Big Fish. It’s an allegorical story, told using beautiful imagery, about the gaps and misunderstandings that exist between sons and fathers. It also looks at the way that fathers treated sons at one time, and how a son, wanting a better relationship, expects more truthful information later in life.

Our story follows Edward Bloom, a man who lived a normal life, but was not content to communicate the banality of his life to his son. He invents elaborate stories about his travels and encounters with fantastical folks and places. When his son is young, these stories are exciting, entertaining, however, as the son ages, he starts to feel that he really does not know his father. These "stories" start to feel like lies and half-truths. Why can’t his father just be truthful? What is he hiding? An affair perhaps? It drives a wedge between them.

Big Fish is also about Edward’s son, Will. He's no longer entertained by his father. In the absence of the truth, sometimes a son will fill that void with worst possible scenario. That's not healthy. 

Luckily for the viewer, this film addresses these issues and more. It does it in a way that uses fantasy and symbolism which keeps it moving and interesting. What a treasure of a film.  

Onto No. 38... Gleaming Cutlass