The Fountain

July 23, 2007

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 96 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The end credits rolled and I just sat there, stunned. The gentleman to my right raises his voice and pleads with the people around him, “Ok…will SOMEbody tell me what the &*$# I just saw?!?”

The Fountain I was RIGHT there with him.

The Fountain is not something I can describe and do the film any justice at all. The visual effects are beyond anything you’ve seen before. This isn’t because of the technology behind them, but rather for the unfettered imagination that came up with the imagery in the first place. And then there are the philosophical and metaphysical elements of the movie that defy any rational attempt to quantify.

I have given a lot of thought to this movie over the past few days and I still don’t fully understand what I was seeing in some places. But that’s kind of ok, I guess. There is a message in this movie. I got it. And the really odd thing is that I think the message will be different for each person that sees it. This is because you will be forced…no, that’s too strong a word. You will be urged to let your mind walk a path that you don’t want to go down; a path you probably have never even dared approach. It is the path of death.

Yes, director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) wanted to make a movie about death and what it means to us mortals. He does so by showing us three different timelines: Spain in the middle ages, the present day, and some future time. The movie posters and trailers say 2500, but there is absolutely NO way to reference that. The only *real* character you see in that timeline is Jackman’s and he never talks about what year it is. You can’t even judge by his surroundings since he is WAY out in space, floating along in the odd bubble and living in it like a hermit or monk.

In the Spain timeline, Hugh Jackman is a decidely loyal conquistador who pledges himself to finding the Fountain of Youth in order to preserve the life of his Queen, Isabel, and thereby Spain, as well. In the present, Jackman is a dedicated research scientist doggedly trying to find a cure for brain cancer. He is doing so because his wife, “Izzy”, is terminally ill with it. During his research, he stumbles upon a miraculous anti-aging compound that has interesting implications…and complications to his research. In the future timeline…ah, hell, I have no idea what was going on there. It was a spectacularly beautiful…and confusing acid trip.

I honestly cannot say whether or not I recommend this movie. It just defies normal ratings and classifications. I can say, however, that if someone very close to you has recently died or is dying, it will stir your very core. And that may or may not be a good thing.

Now if y’all will excuse me, I’m going to watch some football follies and continue my recovery from this flick.

Posted by Alex | Filed Under 3 Stars, DVD, Drama, Hugh Jackman, PG-13, Rachel Weisz, SciFi, Unclassified