Thursday, November 13, 2008

Big Fish:Movie for those imaginative people.


Last night,I've rented a DVD-Big Fish.A story about a dying father,Edward Bloom,tells an imaginative story of his own,and the story about a guy,"big fish at the small pond".


Ewan McGregor starred at this 2003 movie,and directed by Tim Burton.Well,remember Charlie and Chocolate Factory?Or Edward Scissorhand?Or Corpse Bride?


This gothical style of movie make me wonder,is that "dark is the new light?"


Anyway,allow me to copy-paste the sypnopsis first.


Will Bloom (Crudup) returns to his family home in Alabama, having spent the past three years not talking to his father Edward (Finney). Dying, Edward recounts his life story in his own unique, exaggerated way, full of fantastic events (portrayed in these flashbacks by McGregor). Will tries to get to know his father and find the truth, discovering that his father did lead an extraordinary life and that his storytelling was his finest achievement.


At his son's wedding party, Edward Bloom tells the same tale he's told many times over the years: on the day Will was born, he was out catching an enormous uncatchable fish, using his wedding ring as bait. Will is annoyed rather than pleased by this tale-telling; he explains to his wife, Josephine, that because his father never told the straight truth on anything but insisted on embellishing it with tales, he felt that he could not trust him. He is troubled to think that he might have a similarly difficult relationship with his future children.
Will becomes a journalist in Paris, and his relationship with his father becomes so strained that they do not talk for three years. But when his father's health starts to fail, Will and his pregnant wife return to Alabama. On the plane, Will recalls his father's tale of how he braved a swamp as a child, and met a witch who showed him his death in her glass eye. With this knowledge, Edward knows there are no odds he cannot face.
Edward still has a knack for tall tales. As he tells it, he spent three years confined to a bed as a child, with his body growing incredibly fast. He became a successful sports player but found the town of Ashton too small for his ambition. Finding a kindred spirit in the misunderstood giant Karl, they set off. Edward takes an abandoned path down a supposedly haunted forest. He discovers the tiny town of Spectre, where the missing poet Norther Winslow has settled with people so friendly that no one who comes ever leaves, and comfortably walk barefoot. Edward still feels he does not want to settle anywhere yet and leaves, but promises to the young girl Jenny that he will return.
At the circus Karl signs up with Amos Calloway, and time stops as Edward sees the love of his life. As time speeds up again and he loses her, he promises to work for Amos day and night without pay to learn who she is. Every month for three years he learns something new about her, but mostly useless trivial information about her and never her name or address. Edward discovers Amos is a werewolf but manages to calm him down by playing fetch. In thanks for Edward's kindness, Amos tells him the girl's name is Sandra Templeton and she studies at Auburn University.
Edward learns from Sandra that she is engaged to Don Price, also from Ashton. He makes many attempts to show his love for her, including collecting all of the daffodils (her favorite flowers) from five states. Don appears and beats up Edward. Disgusted, Sandra gives up her engagement ring and falls for Edward, who, having given her his word that he wouldn't hit Don, refuses to fight back. During his recovery in the hospital, Edward is conscripted by the army, and goes to Korea. Instead of taking his assigned mission, he instead parachutes into a theater entertaining troops, steals important documents, and convinces conjoined dancers Ping and Jing to help him get back to America, where he will make them stars. The army thinks the missing Edward is dead and they tell Sandra, leaving her in grief, but Edward eventually returns, surprising her. Being legally dead means that his work choices are limited, so he becomes a traveling salesman. Meeting Norther Winslow again, he unwittingly helps him rob a bank, which is already bankrupt. Edward suggests Winslow work on Wall Street, and Winslow later sends Edward $10,000 from his first million as his "career advisor." Edward uses it to buy his family's dream house.
Still unimpressed by his father's stories, Will demands to know the truth. Edward tries to explain that is who he is: a storyteller. While looking through Edward's old office, Will finds a suspicious letter from Spectre. Going there, Will meets an older Jenny. She explains that Spectre eventually went bankrupt, but Edward bought the entire town at an auction and rebuilt the town with financial help from many of his previous acquaintances, although it evidently decayed again. She also explains that she loved Edward, but Sandra was the only woman for him.
Coming home, Will discovers his father has had a stroke and is at the hospital. He goes to visit him there and finds him only partly conscious, and unable to speak at length. Since Edward can no longer tell stories, Will tells his father a story of his own: escaping from the hospital, they go to the river where everybody in Edward's life shows up to greet him on his last journey. Will carries his father into the river where he becomes a big fish. Although his story is clumsy compared to his father's practiced tale-telling style, it shows that for the first time Will understands why storytelling was so important to his father. Edward then peacefully remarks "The story of my life" before dying.
At his funeral, Will sees many of his father's more unusual friends, confirming at least a grain of truth from many of his tales. He sees Amos, Karl, Ping and Jing and Norther Winslow amongst others (although they are not entirely the same as in the stories, and are, in some cases, the result of a play on words. For example, the 'conjoined' twins, or 'Siamese' twins, are not conjoined, but rather, from the capital city of Thailand). When his own son is born, Will passes on his father's stories, remarking that his father became his stories, allowing him to live forever.

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This story shows how beautiful life it could be when imagination came together in life.Life is so beautiful although there's so many problems around.Imagination,like Edward Bloom,sometimes being remark as-lunatic,schizophrenic,crazy,idiot.But throw those words away,we can live this life happily if we keep imagine that life is beautiful.


I've been diagnosed as schizophrenic-level 2.I've been through-psycho analysis,medicine,you name it,I facing it.Remember Matchbox 20 song-Unwell?Well,maybe after all these time,I put pressure a lot towards myself,without realizing to enjoy this life.


Perhaps John Lennon-Imagine is the right tune for me right now.Like Avenged Sevenfold hits-Seize the Day.Carpe Diem.Life is beautiful,if we appreciate it.


And the way Edward Bloom expressing about his love towards Sandra Templeton?He rather work with no salary 3 years just to be Sandra's lover,and gather Sandra favorite flower of 5 states.Sounds retarded,huh?


Michelle Branch once saying,"who wants to be ordinary,in this crazy mixed up world?",well,she's right.

4 comments:

Malaysia Tanahairku said...

Dah lama tak dengar cerita Michelle Branch, ni Nami boleh kau nyanyi lagu Mich masa majlis prom night nanti, bawala gitar hehe. Teringat nostalgia lama komik Nome, Mich.

Aku punya komik, kecuali Bad Ass Kick, masih elok lagi, masih nostalgik lagi nanti aku bawakan, memang retrola.

Malaysia Tanahairku said...

Alamak beb sorila gua dah berangan pulak, bukannya prom night. Gathering antara bujang belum telajakla.

Cob Nobbler said...

Meech la!

Bad Ass Kick?aku punya komik2 setinggi peha aku tu dah hilang,masa kat cheras..nak pindah semban..

Malaysia Tanahairku said...

Aku nak tunjukkan kau ni memang kenangan di zaman muka kau, Epul masih macam nangka muda lagi,hahaha