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Big Fish
Director: Tim Burton (2003)
Distributor: Columbia Tristar Films (UK)
Certificate: PG
Spoiler notice: If you read on will become aware of
how the film ends.
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Main Characters:
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Retired salesman, Edward Bloom, loves to tell tall, fantastical tales about his life, which everyone enjoys except Will, his journalist son. In fact, Will hasn’t spoken to him since his wedding. It was supposed to be Will’s big day, but instead his father upstaged him with a larger-than-life tale of catching a big fish on the same day that Will was born.
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Years later, Edward Bloom is on the verge of death, and his son flies back to see him. At his bedside, Will listens to all his father’s stories again and tries to strip away the lies from the truth in order to piece together a true picture of his life. |
The stories include: being confined to bed as a teenager because he grew too quickly; visiting the house of a witch who showed him how he would die; ridding his town of a giant; finding a hidden paradise in the middle of a spooky forest; working for a circus owner who is secretly a werewolf; aiding a poet in a bank robbery; and many. many more.
Before he dies, Will discovers much of the truth about his
father, finally makes up with him, and even learns how to tell tall stories
himself.
THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
There are a number of scenes in this film that echo (intentionally or not) Christian themes and values. Three immediately spring to mind:
· The scene with the giant in the village reminded me of the David and Goliath story, but with a different ending – Edward Bloom became friends with the giant instead of killing it.
· Edward Bloom stumbles upon the town of Spectre, a paradise on earth. However, this paradise falls into a state of disrepair and Edward sees it as his mission to restore it to its former glory – echoes of the Garden of Eden and God’s work in restoring the human race after the fall of mankind?
· In talking of his father, Will Bloom says that it is hard to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. Many people say this about the stories of Jesus – what is fact and what is fiction, what is true and what is myth, in what has been called “the greatest story ever told”? In the end, Will comes to understand the power of stories, and realises that the myths surrounding his father are more “true” and more powerful than the events that actually happened.
But to me, the most important theme running throughout the film arises from its title.
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be truly free” (John 8 v 36).
Why is this film called Big Fish? Why are there so many scenes in this film that contain images of water, rivers and fish, including the older Edward Bloom submerging himself in a bath fully clothed? It is clear that Edward Bloom is the “Big Fish” of the title, but what does this mean?
Have you heard the saying, a big fish in a small pond? The young Edward Bloom, confined to bed because of his unusual rapid growth, reads that goldfish, when confined to a bowl, will remain small, but if let loose in a river will grow large. Not long after this, Edward leaves the small town he grew up in to explore the wider world. He does not want to be a small fish – he wants to be free to explore, to grow and to learn.
Jesus talked a lot about freedom. God has created us to grow and be free – to be liberated. What a crime, then, that so much of humanity is held back from growing, held in prisons, both real and imagined – prisons of guilt, fear, control, poor self-image.
How can we help people achieve their God-given potential, to grow into big fish? As Christians, how can we join with God in liberating the people around us?
Is there anything that stops us from becoming the big fish that God wants us to be? Ironically, even some Christian churches can hinder our growth as human beings, with legalism and rules and regulations that are imposed on us.
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