Stunning, Beautiful, and Sobering Meditation On The Dream Of Immortality

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2006)

Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain is truly brilliant. I now believe Aronofsky to be the one director alive today that has slipped comfortably into Kubrick's shoes (and it's not just because of the trippy visuals.) Here is a director who truly perceives the medium of film as an art, and who fearlessly creates original motion pictures regardless of their box office potential.
The Fountain is a beautiful movie. The music was enthralling -- I noticed during the end credits that Kronos Quartet played some of the music, which was composed by someone I never heard of. I even saw Mogwai mentioned! In any case -- an absolute must -see film for serious moviegoers. It is the real thing. The cinematography is stunning, and there is not one sequence or bit of dialogue wasted. Hugh Jackman is simply perfect in his 3 roles.
There is no doubt in my mind that The Fountain is the best of the 3 Aronofsky films thus far. He is really maturing as a director.
By the way -- ignore the critics who allege this movie is 'flawed' because the director doesn't supply any 'answers'. It is actually part of the reason the movie is perfect.
It is a stunning, beautiful, and sobering meditation on the dream of immortality. The director knows exactly what he's doing. Audiences who can't keep up w/this film have no right to place the blame on the filmmaker; rather, they should place the blame squarely on their own shoulders for being largely ignorant of the various minutae that the movie is grounded upon.
What we have here, essentially, is that glorious & quite rare achievement to come out of Hollywood: cinema analogous to poetry (particularly for the futurist -scenario wherein our protagonist is captured in a clear bubble travelling deep through our galaxy): these sequences are pure cinematic poetry because unlike the 16th-century sequences & the present-day ones, which clearly are based on known historical and current trends, the future is a big question mark and Aronofsky pulls out all stops in envisioning his own set & setting to capture the inner mental universe of the protagonist.
The results are a truly mind-expanding glimpse into the inner & outer worlds of human being's passions and foibles. Yes, the movie is a love story at heart - - something that may throw off the cynics & bitterly jaded amongst us, but for the true romantics at heart, it is pulled off miraculously.
Here is a a truly important American film pulled off with style and intelligence by a director fated to be recognized as that true anomaly in Hollywood: a genuine artist.
If you go see movies to escape or witness formulaic chase scenes, macho posturing, and all the rest that comes with the fleet of franchises spouting out of Hollywood's anal cavity, by all means don't bother with this.
If you want to appreciate a true work of art that does not bother to "provide answers" but rather, challenge the audience with the real, staggering implications of what it means to be alive and in love in this reality - - look no further than The Fountain.