A miraculous film achievement, a story so beautiful it must be seen to be believed

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2006)

"Our bodies are prisons, for our souls. All flesh decays... death turns all to ash. And thus, death frees every soul..."
The Fountain is the closest I will get to having a religious experience in a movie theater this year. It is a miraculous film achievement, a testament to the hard work and dedication that Director Darren Aronofsky has poured into his passionate project over the last several years. His wife, a beautiful Rachel Weisz, stars with Hugh Jackman in a love story that transcends time, space, and body. Three different tales taking place over one thousand years intertwine into a story so bold and so beautiful, it must be seen to be believed.
In the first of the stories, Jackman is Spanish Conquistador Tomas, a warrior in 1500 A.D. who travels to the Mayan ruins in search of the sap from the Tree of Life, in order to live forever with Queen Isabel (Weisz), whom he is in love with. In the second story, which takes place in the present, he is Tommy, a surgeon who may have stumbled on the key to immortality by accident, when the rosin used in a surgery on an ape brings unforeseen result: complete healing. He must race to find the cure to his wife Izzy's sickness, which is claiming her life quickly. The third is the oddest, and the most brilliant. It takes place in an orb of sorts, which is traveling through the universe. In it, Jackman is Tom Creo, a mix of both of the last two incarnations and a new man. He is alone, except for a tree, perhaps The Tree, which we are lead to assume is the re-incarnated Izzy/Isabel.
What is The Fountain about? I've been trying to figure that out ever since I left the theater a few hours ago. I think above all, it is a look at how beautiful an undying love is. It is no coincidence that Aronofsky shoots Weisz as if she is a goddess; she is his wife, and she is beautiful. Jackman's performance is passionate and emotional, which complements the calmness of Weisz's. Izzy knows that she is going to die, but she is not afraid. It is tragic in a way, but blissful in another. It doesn't have a definitive end point because the story unfolds in a completely un-chronological way. When it does conclude, the ending is simultaneously maddening and perfectly fitting with the rest of this visually and thematically orgasmic film.
Review posted by James Chapel on www.boxofficefanatic.com