The Fountain

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2007)

Darren Aronofsky has always been a little weird, his directorial debut µ was a crazed black and white drug filled trip through the mind of a mad scientist and no less weird but a tad more mainstream was the equally trippy Requiem for a Dream, well he's done it again and he is here to baffle us once more with the fountain. It's a film about a book that is the film and the book; oh forget it I can see I'm losing you already. Lets just say it's a very messed up love story that spans a thousand years and the universe and involves living forever but eventually dieing, am I making sense? Well the film hardly does either. Visually it is stunning as we fly through space and visit dieing stars, jumping backwards and forwards in our pursuit of answers to death, disease and eternal love, it all looks very pretty indeed its just that doesn't really help us understand it anymore. Science, fantasy, Mayan pyramids, yoga it all sounds a bit like Tom Cruise's belief system and yes at times it is that bizarre and just when you think there's going to be a revel or you've kind of got a handle on what the hells going off whoosh it spins of again into eating trees and self tattooing all while having flashback from several periods in history that are miles apart, am I losing you again? You see the thing is The Fountain is one of those films that you have to submerge yourself in; you have to live with it, feel it, and even become it. The first half of this review was written by me straight after seeing the film, this bit is nearly two weeks later and the film has taken that long to sink in, to imbed itself in my brain, it is a complex beast and one you will need time to tame. If people aren't getting it I guess they don't want to or its too much effort, where's the explosions and car chases? What is being presented here is a film with intelligence and a challenge to the audience if you go with it you will be rewarded if you don't you will miss out on one the most amazing cinematic experiences you could possibly have. I for one need to see it many more times to really appreciate its ultimate beauty. I have heard it being compared to 2001: A Space Odyssey and that is maybe stretching it but I can tell you it's not far off. A time spanning timeless masterpiece of modern cinema, a shame that people will probably not start getting it for years to come.