Related
This movie is very original and the filmmakers are technically competent, but it’s much too bizarre and confusing to be very enjoyable.
WatchingThe Fountainis sort of like eating a breakfast burrito from one of those 24 - minute drive - thru piazza . You have to digest it for a while before you realize its full impact on you . To be honest , I kind of find guilty that I did n’t give this motion picture a better rating . After all , it was directed and co - write by Darren Aronofsky , whose last directorial effort wasRequiem for a Dream . That movie was rough , to say the least , but it was also absorbing . Six years by and by , his follow - up seems to fall foursquare into the " artsy - fartsy " category . Do n’t get me wrong ; I have immense respect for Aronofsky because he has clearly dedicated himself to make motion picture that weigh to him , as opposed to movies that appeal to the masses . I also respect his power to make well-informed and thought - provoking movies . The problem withThe Fountainis that it stomach from an extreme overdose of shade and symbolism . I had to struggle to figure out what the heck was going on most of the time . There is nothing incorrect with being a little esthetic with a picture or telling the story in a unique way that dispute the viewer , but when I have a hard clock time be the storyline and there ’s a feeling of confusion on my human face even after it ’s over , that ’s a problem .
Normally , this is the part of the review where I severalise you who the character reference are and where / when the account is set . In this grammatical case , that ’s going to be a small difficult , but here goes . There are three freestanding storylines , all have the same two main fiber . The first storyline is place in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition , around the yr 1500 . Queen Isabella ( play by Rachel Weisz ) has been name as a target of the Inquisition , and most of her follower have been put to death . She come to the realization that she will soon be put to last as well , so she call in upon a conquistador named Tomas Creo ( run by Hugh Jackman ) to go on a pursuance for her . She wants Tomas to find a legendary tree diagram whose sap provides interminable animation . That path , as she put it , " we can live eternally and ever . " The pursuit does not seem to be a very difficult one for Tomas in terms of space , but he encounters significant opposition along the way , even from his own multitude . Will he be able-bodied to get hold the tree , draw out some of its tomfool and bring it back to Queen Isabella , allowing both of them to exist forever ? For me , this was probably the most logical and compelling taradiddle , at least until the ending . However , I was puzzled by the comprehension of obvious diachronic inaccuracies . For fledgling , Queen Isabella and her husband , King Ferdinand , were the instigators of the Spanish Inquisition , intend she would n’t have had a family relationship with a conquistador and she would n’t have been a mark of the Inquisition . Plus , the real - life Isabella would have been 49 long time old in 1500 ; Rachel Weisz was 33 during the filming for this motion-picture show , and she did not seem to be meet " older . "
The second storyline is arrange in present - day America . Tommy Creo is a inquiry scientist whose wife , Izzi , is die of Crab and does n’t have much fourth dimension left . Instead of spend that fourth dimension with her , Tommy pours himself into his piece of work , spending near every waking hour trying to obtain a remedy for cancer so he can salve Izzi ’s life . After a while , he calms down and starts to expend more time with her . He starts to discover things about her that he never knew before , include her interest in uranology and the fact that she is ferment on a Holy Scripture calledThe Fountainwhose last chapter has yet to be pen . Tommy end up try an experiment on a research lab animal that has anticipate upshot , but will he be able-bodied to save Izzi before she succumbs to cancer ?
The third storyline is set in space , around the year 2500 . Tom has on the face of it decided to shave his head , and he is using a place capsule to bring a tree into outer space with him . It sounds weird , but it will make a little more sensory faculty to you after ascertain the photographic film . It ’s alluring to excuse how everything tie together , but even after seeing the film , I ’m not 100 % sure of that myself . Plus , I do n’t want to give away any crucial secret plan points .
Despite my misgivings about this film , it is quite well - made . There is nothing amateurish about it ; the technical competency is definitely there , often to the point of seeming inspired . Jackman and Weisz play their fibre very well , peculiarly consider the dissimilar social nuances of each time geological period , not to mention the fact that they have to do different accents throughout the film . ( I kind of marvel why the Spanish Inquisition storyline had some masses address English with a British accent , but I suppose that ’s a minor quibble . ) At its core , The Fountainis a simple passion story , but you’re able to always depend on Aronofsky to make a multi - superimposed , complex film about even the simplest storyline . Some will be frustrated by that approach ; others will be enthralled . I presuppose I ’m somewhere in between . I was cross by the movie ’s " abstract picture " approach , but it was so unique and challenging that it did n’t quite miss me amidst all the confusion . I ’m certain unlike people will have different response and interpretation with compliments to this film , but there were two main points I pick out away from it :
Whenever I see a movie that ’s intend to provide more to the movie - going masses , my typical response is that it ’s not intellectually challenge enough ; it feels too " dumbed down . " This film seemed to be at the polar extreme — so noetic and symbolical that I had a hard sentence following it . I appreciated how the film challenged me as a viewer and did n’t make me feel like my I.Q. was less than my shoe size , but at the same meter I really wish the film had been more " approachable " to me , for deficiency of a good terminus .
Bottom personal line of credit , Aronofsky ’s movies are entertaining in their own unique fashion , but they do n’t live solely for that purpose . They have something to say that is meaningful and personal to Aronofsky himself . Indeed , it would be unmanageable to accuse him of compromising , or of " selling out , " specially since this is only his third feature flick in eight year . As with his other celluloid , The Fountainis a labor of love for Aronofsky , and it establish . If you prefer rational and challenging fare , by all means , go and see this one . But do n’t expect to clearly read what it ’s trying to say after the first viewing , or even the second . Aronofsky does n’t make it that easy for the interview . He never has .
