[.ca] The Fountain [Blu-ray]

To love forever:
Darren Aronofsky has never made movies that were easy viewing. Examples? Just watch "Pi" and "Requiem For a Dream," and you'll see why this underrated director has made one of the most astounding sci-fi movies in ages. "The Fountain" is basically a sprawling tale that is half "real," half outside the mind -- love, immortality, death, grief and a tangled plotline that may take a few viewings to get right, but is exquisite in its simplicity. Not satisfied with depth, Aronofsky also makes it an absolutely stunning visual experience. Research oncologist Tommy (Hugh Jackman) is trying to find a cancer cure by animal testing, so he can save the life of his dying wife Izzie (Rachel Weisz), including an unsanctioned test from a mysterious tree. As she hopes for a cure, Izzie has been writing a book about a Spanish conquistador who is seeking the immortality-granting Tree of Life. As we see in other flashbacks, that conquistador is a version of Tommy (and Izzy as Queen Isabella). And far in the future, Tommy still struggles with his wife's loss, as he travels to a distant nebula to revive the tree. But as he finally gives in to his wife's last wish, he becomes enmeshed in a mysterious rebirth that stretches through the ages. "The Fountain" got a royal whupping from critics, and was even booed by test audiences, who presumably couldn't understand the three storylines -- or rather, one non-linear storyline, in which the lines between reality and imagination are blurred. Perhaps all of it is true, or perhaps Tommy's mind is creating the 1500 and 2500 scenarios to help him cope. As befits a movie that tackles so many deep themes, Aronofsky weaves mythology, creation beliefs, religion and the fear of death together, and binds it together with the universal theme -- love that even death can't overcome. The dialogue tends to be more spare than the story, rather than loading it down with unnecessary ponderings. And he does it beautifully and surreally. The whole movie is tinged in gold -- gold light, gold costumes, gold Tree of Life, gold nebula, gold deserts. The camerawork is filmed poetry: there are sweet moments like planting a seed in a grave, the Tree lit by the sun, and the sight of Tommy inside the nebula. The most exquisite moment comes when Tommy kneels before Izzy, under the Tree, with drops of golden light falling around them. This is undoubtedly Jackman's best movie, making us feel Tom's love and sorrow for Izzy ("There's no hope for us here. There is only death"), and the lifelong struggle against death. Your heart really breaks for him. Weisz is sweet and wilting as Izzy, and the chemistry between the two leads makes their time-busting love seem entirely reasonable. Aronofsky has made a story that is pure art, exquisite in theme, and while you might have to watch "Fountain" a few times to really "get it," but you won't regret the experience. Even if you don't like it, in an era of bland popcorn movies, its ambition is worth praising.

This could hang in an art gallery as a video art installation:
I take to task the various reviewers that lambaste this film due to it's non-linearity and apparently confusing storyline. Aronofsky does not make films that are easy to watch, or easy to figure out the deeper themes of for that matter. The Fountain is purely an abstract hypothesis, or rather three, that are woven together in a glorious cinematic representation that is so beautiful to watch that the need for a defined narrative takes a bow in favour of the visual splendour. If you are so inclined, you can get the general idea of what the character motivations of Jackman and Weisz are in their triptych representations. When peeled back, it's actually not that complicated - love is an engine that if you let it, will drive you to do anything for whom you bestow it upon. This theme is interwoven through three time periods, all photographed by third time Aronofsky DOP collaborator Matthew Libatique. There are enough films out there to fulfill the mainstream's insatiable desire for easily digestible, instantly forgettable, high-carb, low substance genre fare. The Fountain, on the other hand, and other films such as Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep, Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich, and the entire catalogue of Peter Greenaway, fulfill a vastly different mandate. These film-makers are artists painting from a different cinematic palette, whose films may work better when played on a white wall in the contemporary wing of an art gallery. A setting such as this would most likely find an audience more in tune to the non-mainstream dynamics that films such as these represent. Not to say the average cinema go-er shouldn't try to expand their horizons every now and then, it's just that The Fountain wasn't made to be an average film for the average viewer, so people should keep that in mind when they view then review it.

90 minutes that feel like 3 hours:
Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind when watching it but I thought "The Fountain" to be a tedious exercise in boredom. The movie centers around a man's eternal love for a woman, interwoven into three stories; one in ancient Spain, one in the present day and one several years in the future; all 3 timelines with the same man and woman. It follows a non-linear approach where it goes back and forth between times. Also has to do with a mythical tree, although at this point I was so confused I didn't know what the heck was going on. Yes, it has artistic value but as far as overall entertainment goes, give it a pass.

Permanence vs. impermanence:
"Therefore, the Lord god banished Adam and Eve and placed a flaming sword to protect The Tree of Life." - Genesis 3:24 Three intertwined stories that parallel in different eras (1500 AD, 2000 AD and 2500 AD). Three parallel journeys from darkness into light. We see a person (Hugh Jackman) struggling to hold on to life at any cost. Will he succeed, fail, or learn something about just letting go in the process? Great background film score which has just as much presents as the actors. Brilliant images of Petri dishes and Rachel Weisz. We get a close up of the Tree of life and a new twist on its meaning.

Don't judge this by the first viewing:
I have to be honest the first time I watched this movie I wasn't such a big fan. I enjoyed it but I wouldn't think anything special of it at first. Then I watched it a second time. Three words: Amazing beyond words. The whole movie is like a giant puzzle from start to finish, each piece having its own meaning which is tied in with the bigger picture. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie very much and I recommend it for those who enjoyed a movie like Donnie Darko. One that is connected and full of thought.