The Fountain review

Wow.

That was really something.

I guess when you inflict studio oversight on Aronofsky, you get 'The Cell,' and if you let the man alone so he can do his work, you get 'The Fountain.'

I think we'll see it again this weekend, with some friends.
 
I just saw it.... WHOA... pretty crazy movie... had a hard time following it initially, but really got into it after awhile... deep film... acting is amazing.... visuals are stunning!
 
Yeah, I think the Mayan part was her book (but it really happened?) and the space stuff was the future and the present couple was the real story.

My dad, who's really into Asian culture, was talking about how it blended in Buddhism very heavily. Religion in general was a mix of practically everything in this movie.

Of course, I wasn't expecting this movie to be such a mish-mash of one depressing thing after another. But in any case, I can just see the special Ultimate Edition DVD already with enough documentaries on there to explain the movie in full.

To sum up: Great special effects, but the story asks just a tad too much of the audience.
 
well, i've finally seen it for myself (sitting a few seats away from Jason Lee, btw). it seemed to me that it is impossible to say whether the tree bubble sequences were really the future or Thomas' written ending to Izzie's book. I'm leaning toward the latter. because despite evidence that supports both possibilities, Thomas clearly altered his path by choosing not to pursue his research so he could spend time with his wife. and it was tomas' quest for the tree that blended into the journey to the nebula. but again, there's just not enough information (or maybe too much) to say for certain. which is by design, i'm sure.

I thought this was a fantastic film, but I wish the form of it wasn't so overwelming. it kept me from fully investing in the content. I think given a little more time with Izzie and Thomas in the present, I could have reached a higher level of emotional involvement. imagine that, a film that inspires my head and heart to work overtime for 96 mniutes straight! but hey, few films have achieved that kind of balance. now that i think of it, I had the same reservations about Reqium for a Dream.

still, i'd much rather see a creative endeavor like this that doesn't quite hit all the marks for me than sit through even the most well constructed popcorn flick.
 
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My son is going through a tough time since he broke up with his girlfriend, thought
he might like to go out to see a movie on Thanksgiving day, so I took him to this
one. GAWD. Could this movie get more depressing?

I just didn't care for the protag, nor my son, nor my husband, nor the
audience who left the film unaffected. Maybe you have to understand grief in
the manner the protag did, to "get it" and though I've known grief in my day,
I still didn't care for him or his suffering.

I didn't like it.
 
this was more a philosophical exploration of the suffering caused by the desire to stave off death, rather than an emotional one. that, for better or for worse, is why the perfomances were somewhat difficult to access, while there was more than enough cerebral abstractions for your mind to process... imo.
 
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Saw it a few days ago... great movie. IMHO, the movie is simply about a man coming to terms with the passing of his wife. I guess we can talk on and on about the aspects of it but in a nut shell this is it.

Alot of Leone-like close ups... is it just me or is the cinematography in general kinda like Tarkovsky's Nostalghia, except no long takes...
 
I loved it Beautiful piece of art. and the music is haunting.... also the lighting my god... simply beautiful.
 
I really enjoyed the movie and loved the microphotography.

However I will not deny that there are some laughable parts. The tree sap and when Tommy was "shooting" towards the nebula.

The first time I saw it was in a theatre with 6 other people, everyone sat in complete "awe" of the film.

Second time, it was close to half full and there were a bunch of walk outs.

As for what camp I belong to? All of the future was Tommy's part of the book.
 
I saw it a few days ago and thought it was amazing. Story was great...acting was great. It was all great. I'm really looking forward to seeing it again.

I thought it was really cool that they used underwater microphotography for the look of deep outer space and that it wasnt cg.

SPOILER

I personally believe the space/future parts of the movie to be real. (real in the movie) Anyone else share this conclusion or does everyone think it was just symbolism for everything that was going on with Tommy in the present? I read that Aronofsky wanted to make a sci-fi...and if that stuff isnt real then theres nothing about the movie that is sci-fi at all.

I think he might have made it realistic to think of it either way just to see what kind of person you are and what you think of things. I personally dig the idea of a guy hurtling through space in a really cool spaceship/orb of the future with a tree of what was once his wife on his way to a dying star/nebula so that he can be re-united with her. Knowing that the Tommy we see in the present day stuff is actually going to be traveling through space 500 years later gives the whole movie a creepy/surreal feel to it.....which I love.
 
I just saw this Saturday. Still trying to wrap my head around it. But after reading some other opinions, some things are starting to click. I'm leaning towards the opinion that the future scenes are his continuation of Izzy's book.

I love movies like this. Ones that leave so much open to interpretation. I think this is part of the reason movies like 2001 and The Matrix films make such an impact. They leave just enough unexplained to let the viewer fill in the blanks with their own ideas. They present questions and leave us to find our own answers.

I think this is especially important for sci-fi films. We get way to hung up on explaining every little detail, when really sci-fi is all about the human imagination. The audience should be encouraged to use theirs more.
 
Saw it last weekend and probably going back to see it again sometimes this week. I think is the most haunting film I've seen all year and definately in the top 5 of all year.

Also the soundtrack by Clint Mansell, the Kronos Quartet and Mogwai is amazing.
 
I thought this movie was beautiful, thought provoking and very, very deep. I absolutely think that this movie was mis-marketed. Some people I know that saw it thought it was going to be an epic, action, sci-fi but it was nothing like that (personally I was pleasantly surprised but a lot of people that may have liked it didn't because they were expecting something different then what was delivered.)

SPOILER:

What I got out of the three "timelines" was that, the doctor and the wife was the present day and reality. The conquistador and queen story was the representation of the book that Izze the wife wrote. The doctor's space traveling was the representation of his thoughts (possibly inner spirit) dealing with the wife's dying (him basically going crazy). All three timelines had a circle of life reference, the conquistador being turned into plants, the tree in space dying and being reborn, and then the doctor planting the seed. I could be totally wrong on all of thisJ

Either way, what I loved about this movie is you can take the meaning in different ways, which I applaud Darren Aronofsky for taking a chance with a movie that doesn't tell you what it should mean and it pleases me a movie like this was made in a world of remakes and adaptations.
 
The bum thing is that since the topic is so heavy, most people can't take a story this sad and thus the movie can't be a success. My wife swore she'd never see it again after crying through it the first time. I told my mom about the movie and she was glad I did and promptly swore she'd never watch such a sad film.
 
Just saw it, best new movie i've seen in awhile. i'd give it a 4.5/5. And it goes like this. All stories took place at the same time, The doctor was real world. The spanish was izzy's book, the bubble was their souls.
 
DVD release: May 8th, 2007

Darren Aronofsky has said that he will not have a commentary and that the theatrical version is "his" cut and the final one.
 
I enjoyed this film. Would have been better if he got to make it the first time around. He lost more then half his budget when Brad Pitt walked out on it for Troy.
 
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