Big Fish
Have you ever left a movie theatre with the suspicion that you missed something? For me that invites reflection, or, spurs the desire to see the film again. Alternatively, I sometimes have the feeling that a film’s meaning cannot be fully grasped consciously, but operates subconsciously – that the film-maker designed it to affect us in a more subtle way than simply making a point or evoking an idea. I had that feeling after watching “Being John Malkovich.”
A full five minutes out of the theatre and onto the road I started to sob. That sort of unreflective reaction certainly bolsters any suspicion I have of unconscious operation. Few movies I have seen seemed so powerful in the raw – few have affected me so strongly.
My attempts to deconstruct the film seek to investigate the storytelling rather than the story itself. I wonder how Burton developed the story and how he contributed to the narrative. I wonder where the story started and what was added midway. I wonder if the larger metaphors or meanings were developed first, or coalesced over time as the story took shape – perhaps even accidentally.
There is no doubt that Burton is a creative mastermind. He pulls from the tapestry of American culture to imbue the story with themes and imagery that are instinctively understood by any cultural American. This makes me wonder how a cultural stranger might interpret or be affected by the film.
But it could be that my attempt to peer behind the curtain will avail me naught.
SPOILERS:
Stepping back for a moment, the central plot is the story of a son and a father who are as different as night and day. The father is a raconteur of some talent and personality who embellishes each tale with lies and “flavor.” The son is a starkly realistic modern whose relationship with his father soured from an angry adolescent rebellion against his father’s stories, which as a child, he believed in whole. It is easy to identify with the Son, whose frustration and unhappiness we empathize with – in whom, we can see ourselves. But at the same time we enjoy the stories and verve for life that the father has – the type of person we would enjoy at parties, but resent in family.
The questions this movie raises are so deep and powerful, that putting them to words is a difficult task. What is truth? Is truth the cold facts, or something more? This film grapples with identity, love, family, and meaning in a way that few could try or hazard. Even if we struggle to find the answers to hard wraught questions, putting words to those questions is reason enough to see Big Fish.
Highly Recommended
Stephen Menendian
You can read more movie reviews by me at my webpage:
http://pi314.ods.org:8001/quazex/Smmenen/Film.htm
