The Fountain

Every so often the movie-going audience is given a piece of art to make the mind think and expand upon already held beliefs. The most recent movie that has done this that comes to mind is Mulholland Drive for its sheer delivery of mystery and begs the audience to reach their own conclusions.




The Fountain is one of those movies that tends to conclude with more questions being asked than the typical audience member used to. This is probably why The Fountain didn't do well domestically in theaters.

The story follows a man, or is it three? The movie never actually tells us. This man is on a journey to save the woman he loves from death. The conflict occurs when the man's journey is to find the Tree of Life.

Built upon mythologies, the story takes place in three different time periods, 1500, 2000 and 2500. All stories are interconnected.

What I won't do is give away too much. I want you to view the movie in order to understand and think about it.

I want to share the things the movie touches on.

First, the idea that you can live forever. The movie doesn't try and beat a religious agenda over your head. I believe it tries to answer the question of death through the creation of life. "Death is the road to awe" as stated in the movie. This belief that death in fact frees us thus giving birth to more life.




I also believe that the movie touches on reincarnation, however briefly. The movie never makes it clear that whether the protagonist, Hugh Jackman, is always the same chartacter. Instead it makes the assumption that his character is the same soul driven to save his beloved in three different time periods. In the end; however, the acceptance of death is the answer.

But I think the understanding of death is also the thing people need to think about. Is the answer to death life? We fight so hard to combat death and we just end up losing. Why not embrace it instead of fearing it?




Beautifully filmed by Matthew Libatique and co-written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. This is truely a sci-fi romance. And true to all great love stories it's a tragedy with a bittersweet end. And in this instance, more questions, which for death, is the norm. ***B***