Movie ”Big Fish” by Tim Burton

In the movie Big Fish by Tim Burton, the main character, Edward Bloom narrates the stories of his life. In telling these stories, his son, William Bloom, cannot differentiate if his father is telling the truth or not. Because of this, their father-son relationship starts to strain. However, even if Edward’s stories might not make sense, that’s what makes it special.

As a child, Will loved listening to his father’s stories. Since his father used magical realism, it made his stories worth listening to. For example, that one night before Will fell asleep, he asked his dad to tell him a bed time story. In response, he told Will the Witch Story, even if it might give him nightmares. While telling this story, you can tell he used magical realism because in reality a witch isn’t real. Because of the magical realism, it made Will think of his dad as an incredible guy to have met a witch that has a glass eye. Furthermore, because Will thought his dad was so amazing, his relationship with his dad was great.

However as Will got older, he begins to wonder whether his father’s stories actually happened or not. One reason was the many uses of magical realism, which made it to exaggerated to be real. For instance, Will didn’t believe that his father’s car really got stuck in a tree or that his boss was really a werewolf. Not only that, he didn’t believe that his father actually went in the army and met Siamese twins that helped him escape. Exaggerations like these, made Will begin to think more and more if his father was really who he was. Will eventually becomes a realist and says that a car can never be stuck in a tree nor does a werewolf exist. He also stops talking to his father for 3 years and the only time he’s contacted him was through letters and such. Because of this, their father and son relationship begins to fall apart.

Later on when Will finds out that his father is ill, he starts to realize there’s more meaning to his father’s stories than he thought. Before his dad died, he found a letter stating that Edward passed away in the war. This made Will think twice of the War Story and actually wondered if that story really happened. While Will looked at the letter, his mom tells him that not everything Edward said were lies. When his mom said that it made Will think again about his dad’s stories. As his father is lying on the hospital bed,barely talking and breathing, he asked Will to tell the story of his death. While telling the Death Story, Will then understands why his dad’s stories were truly him. During the funeral, Will sees all these people that were included in his father’s stories like the supposedly 15 feet tall giant, the circus boss that was a “werewolf”, and even the Siamese twins. Not only that but, he sees all the people at the funeral retelling the stories his father has told and realizes how much of an impact it had on people.

Even though his father exaggerated his stories a lot, which made Will annoyed; he eventually understands why he used it and accepts it. Later on 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.