The Fountain

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
S

SlitheryDee

I'm talking about this movie.

WTF is going on here? We have a conquistador in search of the tree of life, a scientist in search of a cure for cancer, and a person in the future trying to get a tree in a bubble to a nebula before it dies.

The scientist and the future-guy almost make it in time to complete their goals. The conquistador makes it to his goal after the mayan priest sees a vision of future-guy and offers up his life to the "original father". The conquistador then makes his way to the tree of life and promptly becomes shrubbery.

Then we get an eye candyful scene of the future-guy (floating indian fashion) going into the nebula followed by the scientist dropping a tree seed onto the grave of his dead wife, who died only minutes before he found out that he had discovered the ultimate cure for life, the universe, and everything.

The only thing I can come up with to explain the movie is something along the lines of "Death is only a transition" or "It's ok to die".

Any insights? :confused:
 
Toonces

Toonces

Golden Member
Feb 5, 2000
1,690
0
76
Aronofsky doesn't usually have cogent "plots", "screenplays", or "storylines"
The medium is the message
 
T

TheChort

Diamond Member
May 20, 2003
4,203
0
76
Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

The only thing I can come up with to explain the movie is something along the lines of "Death is only a transition" or "It's ok to die".

Any insights? :confused:
Click to expand...

that's pretty much the same message i got. His wife is OK with dyeing, except that he is so afraid of it, he won't let he go.

The one thing that bugged me the most is the movie takes itself waaaaayyyy too seriously. Otherwise, the message would have been a little easier to pick up.
 
H

handoverfist

Golden Member
Apr 1, 2001
1,427
0
0
I thought this movie was brilliant. Excellent cinematography and the score complements the movie perfectly. I thought it had to do with the duality between life and death among other themes. There are many ways to get to your "promise land"

This movie catapulted Hugh Jackman to my A list.
 
EvilYoda

EvilYoda

Lifer
Apr 1, 2001
21,198
9
81
MOVIE'S DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL NOR HAVE A SOLID POINT.

That is all. ;)

<--Loves Aronofsky, would've loved to see "The Fountain" the way he originally intended. I understood the movie but agree that it was flawed and overly vague...but beautiful nonetheless.
 
H

handoverfist

Golden Member
Apr 1, 2001
1,427
0
0
This movie is vague, which ultimately leaves it up to the viewer. There really is no right or wrong interpretation. I actually enjoy these type of movies, and don't always like everything spelled out for me. To me that is the fun intriguing part of it. This movie is definitely not plot driven, but I feel it doesn't need to be. For me anyways, the pure beauty of the movie and the different time lines made it fascinating.
 
B

BillyBatson

Diamond Member
May 13, 2001
5,715
1
0
it depends on YOU i suppose. i know only a few ppl who saw it and not all of them formulated an opinion on the storyline other than that they were confused. i have my own idea on what it means but i think the meaning is for me and possible not what the writer intended
 
C

chuckywang

Lifer
Jan 12, 2004
20,133
1
0
The movie is a meditation on life and death. If you've recently lost a loved one, this movie is a good movie to watch.
 
HendrixFan

HendrixFan

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2001
4,646
0
71
I thought it was one of the best movies I have ever seen, and I eagerly await its release on DVD. Ultimately the movie is about accepting death as a natural part of life, you are correct on that.

It is important to note that Aronofsky considers the work to be sci-fi, and has done alot to indicate that the future Tom is indeed real and not imagined. Present Tommy is also real, but past Tomas is not real. I have read reviews that consider both past and future Tom(as) to not be real, which changes alot of how the movie gets interpreted. This of course led to some dead ends on the part of the reviewers.

This movie is rich in visuals, sound, and story. The picture and sound are also a treat, and allow for many viewings just to soak it in. While the characters are straight foward, the themes are not. Like a good book, you can feast on the ideas for a long time. It is a very rewarding movie, and becomes more rewarding with repeated viewings.
 
clamum

clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,252
403
126
Fvck I cannot wait until this comes out on DVD. Piece of sh!t theater here didn't get the movie in when it came out.
 
AnitaPeterson

AnitaPeterson

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2001
5,976
473
126
I found the film's imagery and characters to be very much in tune with modern literature from giants like Marquez, Llosa or even Joyce.. I loved every moment of this film, and will definitely seek the DVD... "The Fountain" was one of the very few worthwhile productions of 2006 (which was, otherwise, a pretty poor year in this respect.)

Like other people have already said, this is a film, not a "movie" or a "flick". It's meant to be a very personal experience, and you're supposed to use your brain, not check it at the door of your local multiplex, while gulping soda and popcorn.

This is the type of film meant to be seen and analyzed with your friends - you gain insight and wisdom while doing it. There's a very fitting quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: "Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."
 
T

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
11
76
Future hugh and present hugh are the same person, and past hugh is fictional. That's my interpretation, anyway. Present hugh finds a seed from the tree of life and plants it on his wife's grave based on something his wife told him about the mayans. She came back to life as a tree (with human bits maybe) and he spent thousands of years drinking the tree extract to prolongue his life (and eventually, apparently, sap from his wifetree), looking for a way to get to the nebula (head of the tree), but never completed the story she wrote as he was asked to.

Finally as he is travelling in the space ship bubble about to finally reach the nebula, she dies, and he comes to terms with it, finally accepting that her death is inevitable and he has made a horrible error in trying to make her immortal, realizing finally that he should have spent more time with her during her human life, such as the time she asked him to go outside. Thus, he decides the book ends with the guy paying the ultimate price for selfishness, as nature absorbs him ironically.
 
So

So

Lifer
Jul 2, 2001
25,923
17
81
worst movie I've ever had to sit through...well, after "Wild Wild West"
 
S

Special K

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2000
7,098
0
76
I thought the movie was excellent and will definitely get it when it is released. I feel like I need to watch it several times to really decide its meaning.

 
M

Moab

Member
Jan 10, 2004
122
14
76
This movie destroyed me in the movies. I couldn't even speak at the end of it. If I did try to say a word I would have just started crying. Amazing film. Never before has a movie affected me like The Fountain did.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom