The Fountain is this year’s most heart breaking love story. In many ways, The Fountain feels like something Kubrick would have done visually, but with a much more romantic edge that Kubrick hardly ever displayed on screen. The Fountain is also one of the most breathtaking films in years. There were several moments where I was in shock at what I was seeing.
This is a truly visionary film helmed by director Darren Aronofsky. Aronofsky’s last film, Requiem for a Dream, was another heart breaking story only about addiction more so than love or death. However The Fountain is completely different from Requiem, not only in the way its story is told but also in the way it is made. Requiem is known for its very creative cinematography and editing, whereas The Fountain will be known for its visually fascinating imagery, story and music. It would seem in the six years it took to make The Fountain, Darren has definitely matured his talent and has figured out other, more creative ways to make use of his talent. In many cases, while The Fountain could have been a three hour epic, Aronofsky chopped it down to a tight 96 minutes and it flows just perfectly.
In case you haven’t heard what the film is about, all I can tell you is a small bit, as this is a visual quest for audiences to experience. The film is divided in three parallel stories that intersect at different points of the film. The film has a range of topics and themes including love, death and spirituality. I think the best example of what the film is about came from one of the producers who said the film is, “a love poem to death.”
With that in mind, The Fountain is still not an easy film to immediately grasp. More than likely, after the last part of the film has ended, one will have more questions than actual answers. However, upon further viewings I think there will be a lot to uncover as Mr. Aronofsky has certainly placed a wealth of material in a relatively small time frame.
The cast did a great job with the material. Watching Hugh Jackman step out of the Wolverine role and fill in the shoes of both a magician in The Prestige and now three other characters in The Fountain is wonderful.
Hugh Jackman has become one of my favorite actors as of late, as his range is beginning to expand. He plays each of the three characters (Tom, a conquistador, and a spiritual being) so radically different from one another, it is quite amazing to watch. Rachel Weisz also does a terrific job in her different roles and it is about time to really see her shine. Besides The Constant Gardener, she has been stuck in a lot of roles that do not really do much for her as an actress. In The Fountain, she is able to really show off her talent, even if she is a bit outshined by Jackman.
As for the music, Clint Mansell has really grown as a composer. He has always done a fitting job with his scores, especially Requiem which has constantly been ripped off by film students around the country in their own films because it is so darn good. However, with The Fountain‘s score, Clint has created his best work yet by far. If this score isn’t at least nominated at the Academy Awards, it is obvious the Academy has lost any of its credibility.
Mansell once again teamed up with the Kronos Quartet but also added the post rock band Mogwai. Mogwai and other similar bands such as Explosions in the Sky (composed Friday Night Lights music) have a very keen idea on what works as film music. It is nice to see composers finally using those groups with their compositions and certainly with The Fountain, it truly worked.
Other aspects that truly dazzled on The Fountain, were the cinematography and editing. Both of which were done by the same two that worked on Requiem. The cinematography is beautiful and fits perfectly with the film, without all of the flash and neat tricks from Requiem. The editing is also very smooth and must have been some real work with the three time lines in the film. I could see both the cinematography and editing being nominated by the Academy as well.
It would seem Mr. Aronofosky and the rest of his team, several who have been working with him all along, have really begun to coalesce. This film’s collaboration has really succeeded in telling a different kind of science fiction story, one that needs to be seen more than once. This film has the most adventurous and unique story this year, so do yourself a favor and dive into The Fountain, it’s worth getting wet.
– Brandon Hill, MoviePulse
Bob says
Hi,
I jumped at the opportunity to see this film at the Ghent Film Festival because I loved both Pi en Requiem for a dream. It did not work for me. It is a visual masterpiece, and I admire the fact that no CGI was used. Visual effects were created by taking micrographs (micro-photography) of
of chemical reactions on petri dishes. It was the story that failed to impress me. I was neither moved by nor interested in this ‘love poem to death’.
I did get to see two previews of other films at the festival: Brick and Pan’s Labyrinth. Brick is a very entertaining film-noir murder mystery in a high school. Pan’s Labyrinth is probably the best film that I’ve seen this year. It’s directed by Guillermo Del Toro from The Others, The Devil’s Backbone and Hellboy. It takes place in WWII-era Spain. It’s about a girl, her pregnant mother, a faun, a fascist, republican rebels and some awesome monsters. It has a compelling story and looks great. I strongy advise anyone with an interest in good films to go see this.
Cheers,
Bob
Joe Russo says
Here is what I wrote in the MoviePulse article “Joe Splashes his Differing Opinion on The Fountain!”
Typically I am not a fan of the “Blog” craze that has taken over the online nation, but with Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain I feel compelled to respond to Brandon’s review. While there is a great deal I agree with in his argument, such as exceptional performances, cinematography and editing, there is one point we decidedly disagree on, and I feel strongly enough that another avenue needs to be explored for our audience:
The Fountain is a lifeless film.
Having never seen any of Aronofsky’s previous works, I went into The Fountain completely unbiased and open minded. If anything I wanted to see this movie based off the visually stunning trailers and my good buddy, Brandon’s ecstatic recommendation. So after stuffing myself with turkey I spent Thanksgiving night fighting a Tryptophan induced coma watching the longest 96 minute movie ever, The Fountain.
Some will say I missed the point of the work, or the bigger picture, but I assure you I didn’t. I like to think that since my tenure as a Phoenix film critic began that I have seen enough artsy-fartsy pieces that I can at least semi-grasp their high concepts. The Fountain isn’t an emotional jigsaw puzzle as its proponents will have you believe, engaging audiences to fill in the gaps. Rather all the pieces are there from the beginning, and all the information you need is within the film, however for those who realize that The Fountain just isn’t that rewarding when you put it all together.
As a viewer I should have been completely enraptured by The Fountain, as it is an epic story of love and tragedy, especially considering my current mindset. When you start a relationship with someone really special, there hasn’t been a chance for the connection to sour, in fact the world seems like it is filled with opportunity and hope. Seeing someone’s loved one, who means the world to them, ripped out of their lives should have tugged at my emotional core with this frame of mind. Aside from a moving scene where star Hugh Jackman attempts to revive his wife, played by Rachel Weisz, The Fountain didn’t connect with someone it should have easily riveted.
Perhaps it was the three disjointed time frames which took the emphasis off the overall tone and impact. Granted the first of the three, in which Jackman plays a Spanish Conquistador exploring the New World for Queen Isabella (Weisz), is given some context as a story written by Weisz’s character Izzy in the second, modern day setting. However, can someone please explain to how we warp to the future? Even if The Fountain is a visual “love poem to death” it does not give any rhyme or reason as to why we suddenly find the lead character, Tom, trapped in a bubble floating through space and partaking in ritualistic communion of eating the bark from a tree that has grown above his wife’s grave. I don’t care if the movie is labeled a “science-fiction romance”; if you are going to dabble in the world of Sci-Fi you need to establish ground rules, period.
The film is about the symbolic correlation of life and death, and the theme’s triangular pattern is echoed within each of the three storylines, which all converge into one great explosion in the film’s finale. There are no secret hidden meanings which will be seen within layers of the film on subsequent viewings, the writing is on the wall and it is plain as daylight for those who are trying to find purpose in the story rather than just letting themselves get swept up only in the visuals.
When I was told that the film’s score would simply blow my mind, I was expecting iconic music that would deeply ingrain the visual beauty of The Fountain into my brain. When the film ended I turned to Crystal and asked if she noticed anything special about the music and she shrugged. Guess I wasn’t the only one who must have missed this potential award winning score.
On the way out of the theater I tried to listen in on other audience member’s opinions and they too seemed just as frustrated at what they saw. Some slept through the picture, snoring at high volume (maybe that’s why I couldn’t hear the score); other’s simply said “that was the worst movie I have seen in a while”. If you couldn’t tell I probably would have chosen a different rating for The Fountain than the high number my partner in crime gave it, but since this is a little forum for me to rant, I will leave my score up to your imaginations. Do yourself a favor and go see that other romantic, Sci-Fi flick in theaters this weekend, it is far more enjoyable.
Joe Russo
Editor-in-Chief
MoviePulse
Michael James says
I just read all of the reviews on the Google home page…They just DONT GET like you and I did.
“Death is the road to awe”
One reviewer looked at this repeating phrase as pure horsecocky. Maybe I understand that our natural state of existence is spirit form, not human form… and the life we know in the body we settled into is the “vacation” away from the lack of taste touch sound smell and sight.
I don’t believe the man in the bubble was an astronaut at all, I think he was the Higher Self of the same man living out the same experience in different states of time. As I said, our bodies are temporal and finite so we judge time in a linear way. Birth, growth, death. We thikn this is all there is…it ISNT.
In spirit form, time is happening all in one instant.. past, present, and future are happening all at once. There is no way to break this down into a math problem for those who lack faith. Einstein tried but fried his brain. We were never meant to figure it out that deep, our human natures would eventually lead us to misuse it, like we always send up doing.
🙂
Then again, maybe I am just another dreamer with words too big to fill my mouth as the thoughts flow across my lips.
Michael James
screenwriter Racers Edge
Michael James says
The Fountain is beautiful, gripping and utterly transcendent. It’s the best film of 2006. 9.8 out of 10
WWOW! Just saw it today and was blown away by it. AS a screenwriter I saw the magnificence of the film as a whole. I told my wife and 2 friends this movie will be nominated for many Academy Awards. They laughed it off. They just didn’t get it.
I am a believer in the transcendental nature of our souls. We are all travelers in space and time, our bodies the vessels that take us through the trip. The soul however is timeless. Our Higher Selves are right next to us, somewhere above and directly behind all of the time. Almost like our lives are first person video games that are dangerous because we can really die if we make a mistake. Art is God reaching out to Us…in all forms. Religion is Man’s mess of trying to make sense of messages God has been sending to Us from the beginning of time. Typical H’wood flicks are geared so that a 6 year old child can follow it. No wonder people are getting dumber and dumber, movies getting worse and worse. I would cut the tongue out of anyone who calls Dukes of Hazard a “film.” That crap was a movie. The Fountain is a film!!! High art.
Ciao,
Michael James
Zippy says
It was very pretty and the music was nice.
This was recommended as sci-fi…. please, Star Wars was more scifi than this pretentious pile of bullshit.
I would not want to inflict the torture I had to endure sitting through this claptrap, so I will recommend no one watches it…ever.
Kyle says
As an avid fan of all things cinematic, appreciation of a fine flick normally comes easily. Requiem is (on my list) one of the most profound, heart-wrenching, and utterly satisfying insights into humanity that the box office has ever managed to deliver, and I applaud Aronofsky’s genius, his ability to simultaneously open a window into our heart’s darkest secrets and desires, as well as the brightest aspirations and hopes and dreams that we all harbor within our souls.
Now.
The Fountain.
It’s been a long time since a movie made me want to kill myself (Will Ferrell’s Elf), but 20 minutes into this 15-hour-long flick I felt like going into the kitchen and finding something long and sharp to fall on.
Seriously?
Where can I start?
First of all, if I were trapped in a giant snowglobe careening through space and I was having hallucinations of my long-dead wife (or the Queen of Spain…or…whatever else Weisz happened to play) I’d be looking for some Thorazine, not tattooing myself and talking to a tree.
Secondly, there’s no cure for death, it happens (sh*t happens), and if anyone ever manages to cure brain cancer it’s probably not going to be an unshaven Spaniard from the 16th century (especially one who talks to trees).
Just sayin’.
There are films that paint beautiful pictures, that open up perspectives into the human mind, body, and soul that would otherwise be closed to us except for a couple hours on Saturday nights…
And then there are films that make you wonder whether or not someone had a few million dollars to blow and they flipped a coin between a hundred thousand cheeseburgers, or paying Wolverine to shave his head and sit in a bubble…
Makes me wonder how many people they could’ve made happy with those cheeseburgers.