Re: Darren Aronofsky's sci-fi epic "The Fountain" set to go
Tony, I deleted most of the post for two reasons. First I had not yet published it on my own site and second, I felt that the subject may have been beaten to death. But since you did notice it, and were inspired enough to ask...here it is again in it's entirity.
The Fountain…not for everyone.
This film is not for everyone. If you want eye candy, it has some. If you want escapism, it has some. If you want to turn your mind off, this isn't the film to do that with. It is a visual and metaphorical feast, but it will require attention and exploration to appreciate what is shown you. Don't even begin watching the film with the idea that you can do something else while watching it. It will require your full, undivided attention, and perhaps several viewings to work properly.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky and leveraging the on screen talents of Hugh Jackman (sans sideburns), Rachel Weisz and Ellen Burstyn, we are treated to some great thought provoking material and some very good acting. Ms. Burstyn gives a most memorable performance.
But this is the director's film, not the actors. They are there to provide dialog only. The director, through his camera creates the moods and the imagery that propels us into each world. The cinematography is extraordinary and the special effects are used with purpose, not just to amaze us. The periods of time are reflected in both costume and feel. The richness of the visual images cannot be ignored here, they are a major player in why we feel as we do when viewing this film.
The story is about love, the desire to live forever and the quest to find the secret of life. There are three stories presented to us, each in a vastly different time frame. One in a time long passed, one in the present and one in the future. To his credit, the director chose to use the same two actors (Jackman and Weisz) as the principle in all three stories, hinting at, but not directly slapping us with, the possibility of reincarnation. Yes, this film delves into religion as well.
Jackman plays a conquistador, a research physician and an enlightened being of deep thought and meditation (a future monk) in three parallel stories. The director provides him with the same love interest in two of the story lines and allows us to fill in the last ourselves. Which we do, and we use the same love interest provided for us in the other stories. This is a brilliant move that forces the viewer to select something to care about. It is not often we get to make such choices in a film. We are made to provide the "futuristic monk" (for lack of a better word) with a quest, just as the conquistador and the physician have in the other story lines. The director gently guides us to where he wants us to be, he does not shove.
The three stories are bonded together by this quest, and we see that the further into the future our story goes, the more the quest changes. At first it is a selfish quest to save a kingdom and its material riches. Then it becomes a quest to save a loved ones life. Finally it becomes a quest to unlock the riddle of death, and life. This shows us man-kinds progression from the near savage times to the enlightening times to come. The quest is the same, but the purpose of the quest changes with our growing knowledge of our inner self.
The central character in all three stories is a tree. Actually it is THE tree. The tree of life. In each of our stories the tree has a vastly different significance, and yet it is still the primary vehicle through which the story is told. The conquistador seeks it's magic to save a kingdom (and his Queen) from runaway religious zealotry, the researcher wants to use its life giving power to save the life of his terminally ill wife and the "monk" wants to learn the secret of life…as he travels toward his own death.
Although the parallel stories may be difficult to follow at first, things do begin to fall into place nicely within a respectable amount of time. We soon see the similarities in the stories and also the stark contrasts between them. We are manipulated to hate religion during the times of the conquistador and to marvel at the religious state of the "whole" during the enlightened "monk's" time. But the wonder of this was the complete absence of religion during the modern story. This omission could not have been accidental. So we are shown the horror of religion gone out of control, the beauty of religion when used to enlighten, and what lies between when there is nothing but science.
Each of us will take something different away from this film. But the message is there and quite clear for those that seek it out. Just like the secret of life the tree holds, the secret of this film can be had with close study. Life is a vast circle and death is simply the beginning of more life, each feeding the other…that is but one of my understandings, but I suspect that it is not the "only" answer to be gathered here.
I recommend this film with a caution that you must clear your mind and allow it to just soak in the meanings of the images and messages shown you. If you go in with a notion of what is right and wrong, your ideals will be confronted and you will reject some of the important information being offered to you. This is a visually stunning film, and if you allow it to be, it can also be intellectually stunning as well.
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