The Fountain

I’ve watched a few good movies lately that are truly worth mentioning so I thought I would do what every major movie fan would. Post my own personal reviews about them. It is something I’ve always wanted to do and since blogging came in handy, here’s my first review of a motion picture called The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky.

Mostly known for “Π” (Pi) and “Requiem for a dream”, Darren Aronofsky is back with yet another masterpiece. The Fountain.

Written and directed by Aronofsky himself, The Fountain is a tale of eternal love, life, death, salvation and rebirth. Starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in the lead roles, the plot is set in three different time periods, past, present and future; three parallel stories which are written by Izzi (Rachel Weisz) in a 12 chapter novel about the biblical Tree of Life and a man’s desperate quest to save his loved one from dying. Tom (Hugh Jackman), as a Spanish conquistador in the 1500’s serving his Queen and loved one, as a doctor/scientist in the present day trying to find the cure for his wife’s cancerous tumor and as an explorer on a nebula planet in the year 2500 struggling to save the tree of life representing his wife. “Death is a disease therefore there must be a cure” he says while trying to find a solution to save Izzi. While love and hope prevail, the story is mainly concentrated on Tom’s grief and denial of losing someone he loves. Not specifically clarifying whether the chapters are simply fragments of Izzi’s story telling or Tom’s actual quest to achieve immortality, Aronofsky leaves it all to the viewer’s imagination which in my opinion is the strongest point of this film. “Death is the road to awe” is another significant line in the film which is once again trying to establish that through death, eternal life is achieved. “Together, we will live forever” she says promising a love that will transcend both space and time. The images of this motion picture are spectacular to say the least and the same applies for its music, composed by Clint Mansell who also contributed in Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. Although hesitant at first, as with any major release, I ended up appreciating this movie more than I expected. It is what I would call a cinematic poetry displayed in ingenious images and music. I’m not sure what the masses expect these days, when they go see a movie but should they chose to see a motion picture for its witty and innovative idealism, I am almost certain of their fulfillment.

Here's the trailer: