A living tree traveling through the Xibalba nebula in The Fountain (photo: IMDB)
This evening, I finally had the opportunity to see a film that set a new paradigm in my cinematic experiences. That film would be The Fountain, written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. I have been looking forward to watching this for quite some time since hearing that Aronofsky was working on a new project in 2002. After some development hell involving creative differences with Legend of The Fall’s Brad Pitt, this film finally got the greenlight. It caught my attention when I learned about the visual effects process.
Aronofsky and his visual effects team employed Peter Parks, a specialist in macro photography who created visuals with bacteria and chemical reactions. If you have seen Superman (1978), you have seen his work before notably in the opening credits as Kal-El travels through space from Krypton to Earth. This is yet another example of why I have so much admiration and respect for Aronofsky - his inventive and unusual techniques he uses to make his films.
The end product of the visuals is, as the still shot above suggests, an absolute stunning work of motion photography and art. Aronofsky was quoted as saying he not only wanted to save money by avoiding costly CGI effects, he wanted this film to stand the test of time. Considering the themes of the film, that was extremely appropriate and effective.
The Fountain tackles themes of life and the inevitably of death which always touch me in a very deep and personal way. I loved the narratives of the Queen & the Conquistador and Tom and Izzy although it’s clear to me now after seeing the film that they are not the same people - the former being characters of the manuscript Izzy is writing while she is dying of brain cancer. She has made peace with death and welcomes it as the next phase in her life while Tom obsesses to hold on to his life of which Izzy is an inseparable part. Her manuscript serves as a lesson and prophecy that the conquest of eternal life will lead to tragedy and self-destruction. Despite that, the film ends with a beautiful encore giving us hope for what lies beyond our perceived mortality.
The narrative and themes of the film are challenging in their non-linear form. For me, the film continues to unravel while mystifying as I ponder it which leads me to celebrate it as the best film I have seen in recent memory - certainly the best of the year thus far. What’s interesting to me are the film critics, who seem to be split down the middle on whether this film is worth seeing or not. However, a closer examination of the critical reviews reveals two types of reviews: those who say it fails due to it’s pretentious ambition and those who celebrate it, as I do, for a work of art. I would imagine the artists who have challenged their own mediums in the same manner have received similar criticism.
This film is a continuation of Aronofsky’s masterful film making. All of the techniques that impressed me in Pi and Requiem For A Dream were present; Clint Mansell, Mogwai and The Kronos Quartet’s work on the score was stunning, the signature sound effects and editing were outstanding. All in all, this is a film that represents the best of the human experience; love, philosophy, beauty and art. I loved it.
I was just listening to Clint Mansell - Stay With Me