What art thou talking about, thee Fishy thing?

Speaking of Big Fish in my previous previous entry, I wonder if anyone would like to tell me what they have understood about the film. Because up till now, it remains one of the films that I do not completely grasp and as such has led me to think it as the most pretentious thing I've ever seen.

All I came away with is the sense of story-telling. Our story-telling of our life story (and within which, our fantasies), and stories other people tell of our lives, in manner similar to Orson Welle's Citizen Kane, all of which adds up to the Grand Story Of My Life leading to questions of existentialism, the philosophy of the self, identity, meaning in life. Incidentally, I have recently only realised the similarity between Big Fish and Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry (which is itself a homage to god-like director Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries, and is hilarious, hilarious stuff, and way better than Big Fish). Both are about story-telling of one's life, and the ending of both films are really quite similar, with all the characters popping out within the same frame confronting the story-teller.

So, Big Fish, with the exception of the very pretty colours (I do so love the colours!), is nothing new, and has done nothing to innovate what I refer to as the filmic equivalent of the bildungroman, or a film of formation, tracing the growth of a character. It is a pretentious film, and I hate it, period.

Although I have to say, despite not having watched many Tim Burton films, there does seem to be a consistency in his style that may pave a way to the status of the auteur. Colours, he does so have a thing for colours to depict the darkest things. Savour the sardonic humour.