rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2003
Directed by Tim Burton; produced by Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, Richard D. Zanuck; screenplay by John August
Starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Marion Cotillard, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'Big Fish' is an extraordinary movie by director Tim Burton, a man who
always makes movies that are visually interesting. With this movie we see
that again. An old man named Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) always told
fantastic stories to his son Will (Billy Crudup). Now Edward is dying and
Will wants to know the true versions of the stories, although every other
person around him seems to like the fantastic version including Edward's
wife Sandra (Jessica Lange) and Will's wife Josephine (Marion Cotillard).
Edward still stays with his own versions and that is what we get to see.
The young Edward, played by Ewan McGregor, is who we follow when he meets a
giant named Karl (Matthew McGrory) and when he arrives in a town named
Spectre that basically is a utopia, or something like heaven. That is where
he meets the famous poet Norther Winslow (Steve Buscemi) and a girl named
Jenny (as a grown up played by Helena Bonham Carter). We see how he catches
a very big fish, how he meets witches and ends up in a circus where Amos
Calloway (Danny DeVito) runs things. And we see how he falls in love with
young Sandra (Alison Lohman) and how he tries to win her heart.
Everything looks beautiful. Every new story is amazing, one with twins named
Ping and Jing in particular. It is told with very funny and with moving
moments as well. Especially the first half and the ending of the movie are
great. A small part in the middle is a little too much of things we have
already seen. Music by Danny Elfman makes this movie complete. A very
entertaining and extraordinary tale through the eyes of director Tim Burton.