The barbarian invasions (2003)

3.5/5

Two movies were released in 2003 based on the same subject. Both had the fathers dying and the estranged sons coming home and the re-formation of the bond which had broken between the two of them. One of them won the best foreign movie Oscar and the other bombed at the box office. The two movies were The Barbarian Invasions and Big Fish.

A son gets to know that his father is critical. He is a big shot in financial options markets. He hasn’t been too close to his once womanizing father and doesn’t want to go. However, his sister is away on a sailing trip and hence he has to go to the hospital. Once there, he gets down to the job of taking care of his father. Between discussing call and put options, he manages to find comfortable lodgings, heroine so that the edge of pain is dulled and manages to bring the friends of his father to see him as the end comes close.

Big Fish concentrated on the ties between father and son. There were the absolutely spellbinding fantasies woven by Albert Finney. Here, the element of nostalgia is introduced by the father’s friends.

The script is funny and poignant. However, I saw the extended version which is 15 minutes longer than the theatrical version and I thought that the movie dragged needlessly in the second half.  So if possible watch the 99 minute version.

Overall, the movie is a delight and should be savored by fans of good dramedy.

3.5 out of 5