Agreeably surprising !

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2006)

I did not believe any more that such finely worked films could be produced in Hollywood. 2006 previous releases had almost discouraged me of going to the cinema for US productions.
This film can be seen as a touching reflection about Death, although one may as well (and equivalently) consider that the main subject is Life. Spreaded between three different (but deeply connected) fragments of time-space, it tells the story of a man fighting against the death of his queen, wife, and soulmate. Once again, it is also, as identically, a fight to bring to his beloved eternal life. The screenplay is built upon old Mayan legends about the origin of Life, and the afterlife world.
The story is not told linearly, owing to the multiplicity of the time periods involved, and their mutual entanglement. But I think that Aronofsky managed to link them in a coherent flow. Some people might also be frightened away by the apparent repetitivity of some passages, but each one has its place in the narration (except maybe one or two, but let's not quibble). The camera work is well done and many innovative shots are quite successful. The director really strove to convey ideas and concepts through the arrangement and symmetry of some images. As well as using a strong symbolic language. The special effects are wonderful and fit very well with the cosmogonic dimension of the film.
I was very impressed by Hugh Jackman's acting, which contributed to this film being such a surprise for me. Rachel Weisz is at least as convincing, in what must be one of her best performances. Their dialogues often get full of emotion without indulging in mawkishness.
I will just temper my otherwise very positive appreciation in regard to the unjustified mixing of some Buddhist references and symbols in a metaphysical background which is meant to be Mayan. Which somewhat spoils the remarkable homogeneity and sobriety of the rest of the film. As well as the too numerous representations attached to the tree in the last time period, making its symbolic meaning fuzzy. But, once again, let's not quibble: "The Fountain" is first of all a very enjoyable visual and spiritual experience.