Beautiful Visually but Mixed Feelings

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 2006)

The six stars are for its imagery.
Found a_lester_t (1 December 06) and tyler_schuett's (28 November 06) reviews to be very much on the mark as to the meaning and description of this film. The story takes place within one instant, rather than 1000 years. And the futuristic Tom is actually all in Present Day Tom's head, as is the 16th Century Tom.
Main Problem with this film: With all the "spirituality" in mass media today, it's really hard to feel moved by The Fountain. That path towards enlightenment, confrontation, acceptance with death - it's really pretty much a cliché in cinema, in writing, in the arts. So the problem isn't the quality of the "message" here, but its wow-factor. There has to be something that supplements this "message" to make it very special to the viewer. And while the movie is visually absolutely beautiful and original, it just doesn't deliver. It may present itself to be profound, but the viewer might just as well think, well, didn't Deepak Chopra just say the same thing on Oprah the other day?
And contrary to what has been said about the film by other reviewers, it is not ambiguous or mysterious with its message. It is all neatly drawn out, albeit with a lot of passion by its maker/s. Having said that, much credit has to go to the set designers/art direction/production people, Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Ellen Burnstyn and the rest of the cast for great performances. Especially Jackman, who does "dark and tortured" as well as "light and frothy" so well!