I love watching movies.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a film critic or anything of that sort. I just love watching movies. There is a movie that appeals to every human emotion or feeling. But sometimes, you come across a movie that just tugs at your heartstrings.
My father passed away almost two years ago. For a long time, my father had this crippling disease that left him bed ridden for many years. Painful as it was, my mother already told us then to be prepared because Papa is not getting any better.
Truth is, you can never really be prepared for it. When Papa died, it left me lost and disoriented. But most of all, I felt inadequate---wondering if I had ever shown him that love and affection, especially at times that Papa needed it most.
Then I came across the movie Big Fish. It is a heartwarming tale about a son who never really knew his dying father outside the incredible stories he told about growing up, finding his fortune, and how he met the son's mother. Called to his father's death bed, the son and his young wife lie in wait as the father recollects amazing memories from his past. From a big cat fish, conjoined twins, giants and midgets, to a dazzling field of daffodils--and finding the love of his life. With the tall tales that his father had said, the son doesn't know whether his father was telling the truth or crossing into the threshold of fantasy. But wanting to piece together a true picture of his dear father from the elaborate stories he loved to tell, the son becomes the story-teller in the end--learning to live within his father's imaginary world and to accept that stories can be more important than facts.
Watching the movie made me miss Papa. In retrospect, I realized that there are so many wonderful stories about him to look back to. All I have to do is remember, and Papa will be alive again in my heart. Stories need to be heard as much as they need to be told, and it is through our stories and the stories that we can get other people to tell about us, that we all achieve immortality.
