Moving, beautiful, and nothing like you've ever seen before

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2007)

"The Fountain" is by far the most beautiful, original, daring piece of work to come along in decades. By now, you know it stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz as two lovers who span a timeline of over 1,000 years. It is very difficult to describe plot beyond this, but know that it is as close to pure art can be to a movie.
I saw this after a great Thanksgiving, and had little to no idea of what to expect, and absolutely no idea of what a profound effect this movie would have on me. It made me think about themes of death, love and reincarnation. The movie is filled with great mysticism, tons of thought-provoking elements, and beautiful, Buddha-inspired scenes. The Itvisuals are just stunning. The use of chemical reactions for the backgrounds, especially in the future scenes, are just beyond describing.
It is a very sad movie. The loneliness of Jackman, stuck in this space bubble with a dying tree, is heart-wrenching. The acting is pretty much flawless because it is so convincing. It is not supposed to be a plot to be dissected, rather a movie about the themes I previously mentioned. Just go along for the ride.
The score is incredibly moving. Hours after seeing the movie, I listened to the score, and surprised myself by crying. I can count the number of movies I've cried at on one hand, let alone crying at a movie HOURS after I've seen it. The movie simply would not be the same without Clint Mansell's brilliant score.
I really can't describe the story any more. This movie (not surprisingly) didn't make a lot of money, mostly because Americans are too lazy to be challenged and to actually think about a movie and try something different. There are 1000s more adjectives to describe this movie, but it can be summed in 3 words - GO SEE IT.