...that anything can be the truth depending on the point of view of the person telling it.
Big Fish is Ten Years Old
I was really getting my Tim Burton groove on in my early teens when he came out with this picture, based on the novel of the same name. I remember thinking at first that it wasn't very Burtonish - it was certainly more subdued than a lot of the things he had come out with before and since.
But that really doesn't matter in the end because while it's not high on my personal favorites list, it's certainly a damn good tale and probably one of his technical best.
What's really interesting is that it really examines points of view - as the son tries to find the truth behind his father's tall tales, the exaggerations are often not as extreme as one may think.
The score was one of Danny Elfman's subtlest as well, and earned him one of his too few Oscar nods (I remember he didn't even show up - probably because RotK had everything in the bag that year). It was complimented by a pretty decent "various artists" sampling too.
Really, this boils down to the same thing I usually say at this point - if you haven't seen it yet, rectify the situation immediately.
It's very much like Fisher King, in that both films don't feel like their respective directors, but on repeated viewings you start to see how obviously they *do* fit in after all.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the only things missing here are Burton's more gothic sensibilities (which, being the most immediately noticeable thing about his aesthetic, is probably why the film feels so different), but it still has his overt stylism, prominent use of color, and perhaps the most touching approach to his ever-stalwart theme of the outsider, here being equated to a storyteller. It's such a heartfelt and passionate film about storytelling (one that affected me on a deeply emotional level the second time I saw it- I had that day finished my first short film for class and uploaded it, and randomly decided to watch the film. Needless to say, I was sobbing by the end).
#3 favorite film of all time, yay.
That pretty much sums it up.
DeleteI have a weird relationship with stories dealing with fathers, because I was always so close to mine. Still am, despite still coming to terms with how not-at-all perfect he is.