Movie: The Fountain
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Rating: 5/5
URL: thefountainmovie.warnerbros.com
Amazon: The Fountain on DVD
DC Comics: The Fountain Graphic Novel
Wikipedia: [link]
Genres: Cinema, Graphic Novel, Literature
Images & video contained herein are copyrighted trademarks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Property of Fox.
Death is the road to awe.
There was a story... a story of a man and a woman in a garden...
Given the chance, I would thank Darren Aronofsky with all my heart for writing and directing this movie. Given enough time to express my gratitude, it would overflow next upon Clint Mansell, who scored the soundtrack that I played for a month straight after seeing the movie. I would gladly extend my thanks to Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn and all those who had a hand in weaving the motions of this love story through three different time periods.
First, however, my thanks to Aronofsky. Entering into this, he had to know ahead of time that nearly none would understand nor appreciate this movie. The story he had wanted to express via the medium of cinema for six-years has finally been told. Nearly anyone can appreciate the audio and video of the movie. For these alone, I suggest this movie to anyone. I do so, however, without any expectation that it will strike them as powerfully as it did myself.
While Aronofsky has worked on more than two movies, it was "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" that launched him into success. Both of these were advertised almost entirely through word of mouth. The only difference with "The Fountain" is the release of a trailer that has seen play in many theaters. Add to this the incredible ability he has to create an obsessive fan base, and you have one interesting advertising campaign. It's part of the culture surrounding these movies.
Clint Mansell, the mastermind behind the striking score to "Requiem for a Dream", returned to score "The Fountain". Brief glimpses into this new score, along with the trailer and a synopsis, can all be found at the official website. For months, the website had only moving images and music.
Hugh Jackman ("X-Men", "Swordfish") plays the male protagonist, and Rachel Weisz ("Constantine", "The Mummy") plays the female protagonist. The story is the ancient quest for the Fountain--the sap from the Tree of Life that gives any who drink from it everlasting life. Weisz (as Queen of Spain) sends Jackman into the New World in search of Eden where (as a conquistador) he is naturally pitted against the native guardians of Eden. The chief of these guardians wields the Flaming Sword and introduces one of the movies central themes: "death is the road to awe". This is only one stage out of three that the movie plays out upon, though the quest remains the same... until the end of time.
On a closing note, this is a work of art. Many have warned not to go into this expecting a movie. Although it uses the medium of cinema, it is more an artistic expression than a movie. The level of sensory input, combined with the quality, is on a level reminiscent of opera. Both a strong intellect and strong intuition are highly suggested to appreciate the grandeur of this story, to empathize with its characters and take the initiative to answer the questions Aronofsky will never answer for you.
Sidenote: Anyone interested in alchemy will find symbolism enough to last the promise of forever. The Reality Principle (Circle within a Triangle within a Circle) may as well be the movie's key symbol. It's found throughout the movie along with the well-told mythos of the Trinity.
Given the chance, I would thank Darren Aronofsky with all my heart for writing and directing this movie. Given enough time to express my gratitude, it would overflow next upon Clint Mansell, who scored the soundtrack that I played for a month straight after seeing the movie. I would gladly extend my thanks to Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn and all those who had a hand in weaving the motions of this love story through three different time periods.
First, however, my thanks to Aronofsky. Entering into this, he had to know ahead of time that nearly none would understand nor appreciate this movie. The story he had wanted to express via the medium of cinema for six-years has finally been told. Nearly anyone can appreciate the audio and video of the movie. For these alone, I suggest this movie to anyone. I do so, however, without any expectation that it will strike them as powerfully as it did myself.
While Aronofsky has worked on more than two movies, it was "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" that launched him into success. Both of these were advertised almost entirely through word of mouth. The only difference with "The Fountain" is the release of a trailer that has seen play in many theaters. Add to this the incredible ability he has to create an obsessive fan base, and you have one interesting advertising campaign. It's part of the culture surrounding these movies.
Clint Mansell, the mastermind behind the striking score to "Requiem for a Dream", returned to score "The Fountain". Brief glimpses into this new score, along with the trailer and a synopsis, can all be found at the official website. For months, the website had only moving images and music.
Hugh Jackman ("X-Men", "Swordfish") plays the male protagonist, and Rachel Weisz ("Constantine", "The Mummy") plays the female protagonist. The story is the ancient quest for the Fountain--the sap from the Tree of Life that gives any who drink from it everlasting life. Weisz (as Queen of Spain) sends Jackman into the New World in search of Eden where (as a conquistador) he is naturally pitted against the native guardians of Eden. The chief of these guardians wields the Flaming Sword and introduces one of the movies central themes: "death is the road to awe". This is only one stage out of three that the movie plays out upon, though the quest remains the same... until the end of time.
On a closing note, this is a work of art. Many have warned not to go into this expecting a movie. Although it uses the medium of cinema, it is more an artistic expression than a movie. The level of sensory input, combined with the quality, is on a level reminiscent of opera. Both a strong intellect and strong intuition are highly suggested to appreciate the grandeur of this story, to empathize with its characters and take the initiative to answer the questions Aronofsky will never answer for you.
Sidenote: Anyone interested in alchemy will find symbolism enough to last the promise of forever. The Reality Principle (Circle within a Triangle within a Circle) may as well be the movie's key symbol. It's found throughout the movie along with the well-told mythos of the Trinity.
Together we will live forever.
Updates:
- [2010.07.25] - Removed section on "The Fountain Remixed". Site is down. Updated layout. Changed "Death Is the Road to Awe" video to official trailer. I'm not sure how many times I can update this post. I'm well aware that I can never get it "right" enough for myself, but working on it usually means obsessing for hours over content and words only to find a day has passed. The movie means a lot to me. It changed my life. That's about all that needs to be said... that and "thank you" to every last creature who even delivered coffee to the set of this movie in order to get it made. So "thank you". Frakking thank you.
- [2009.03.29] - Removed Amazon video widget; enlarged book cover image; migrated ending press image; updated copyright/trademark info per Fox; updated links; changed ending video; updated links to open in a new window/tab; new review is pending.
- [2008.04.27] - Book cover added to beginning. Cleanup in Amazon Widget HTML.
- [2008.03.03] - Fountain Remix Project section added. Corrected link in YouTube to this entry. Removed "there's a cure" quote.
- [2007.09.21] - Press release images put in place of non-sourced images. Copyright and trademark information included. Amazon widget added to play trailer and link to DVD. Format cleanup.
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