"The Fountain" Life And Hope Renewed For Movie Goers!
By: Tim - aurora - Dunn

With tomorrow being Thanksgiving here in America let me start off by saying, "Thank you God that there is still some original and brilliant thinking in this world!" 'The Fountain' by Darren Aronofsky, is a vibrant breath of fresh air in a cinematographic world filled with way to many sequels, remakes and formulas.

'The Fountain' is a complex story starting with Thomas(Hugh Jackman), a conquistador in 1505 on a mission for the Isabella, Queen of Spain(Rachel Weisz). He is hunting through the Mayan jungles for a hidden pyramid which guards the Tree Of Life. It is said that he who drinks from its sap will live for ever. in finding it he is promised the hand of the Queen he loves. As he reaches the end of his quest we suddenly flash forward a thousand years into the future to astronaut Tom. Tom Creo is flying through space in a clear globe spaceship which contains only him, an ancient dieing tree, and a small pond of water. Tom, in his bizarre but beautiful ship, is haunted by memories(?) of his past life or lives, and most importantly ghostly visitations from his eternal love.

Flash back now to 2005 where we find Dr. Tommy hunting for a miracle cure for his beloved Izzi who is stricken with a large cancerous growth in her brain. During an open brain operation Tommy is in despair on how to save a research patient when in a flash of inspiration he makes a connection to a piece of a tree his wife Izzi brought back with her from the jungles of Guatemala. An extract from that sample has remarkable protein binding potentials so he mixes it with their own drug components and injects them into the patient. Needless to say the results are staggering.

From here the story stars shifting back and forth through time. Each shift sheds a little more light on the full story. While the story is primarily the story of Tom, Tommy, Thomas, it also is about his great love. Rachel Wiesz plays beautifully as a young vibrant Queen of Spain who promises hope and new life to her country. Next as Izzi, Tommy's wife who is dying but somewhat at piece with her mortality. She’s also writing a story entitled 'The Fountain'. Her book centers on the Mayan myth of Xibalba, the World Tree, whose roots lie in the underworld and stretches through the axis of the earth to the heavens. Xibalba also happens to be a dying star revered by the Mayans. There’s much, much, more to this story but alas I have already shed way to much light on the story for those who have not yet seen it. And if you have grab your keys and go now!

The story is like I said, complex. It’s not one for people that hate to think, to feel or to question. I doubt that no two people in the theater I was in would come away with the same answers to this story and that in my book is a good thing. I for one am tired of movies where I know what is going to happen next, how it ends and why all in the first five minutes of the movie. 'The Fountain' at first glance may seem a romance story to one, a quest for immortality for another, to others it’s a search for rebirth or maybe coming to grips with love and/or death. A few hours after watching this movie it seems to be a wonderful composite of each and so much more. Best of all, all you guys out there, this is one movie you need to take your wife/girlfriend to. She will enjoy just as much as you if not more so!

The story is a wondrous thing but in the end its second class to the true beauty of this movie and that is it's simply a beautiful movie to watch. Think of it as a new age, philosophical '2001 A Space Odyssey'. This is a hallmark piece of cinematography work and will surely get more then one Oscar nomination and probably assured of at least one award. This is a visual odyssey for both the eyes and mind. It’s a story worthy of several viewings to catch all the symbolisms carried through all three timeline stories. Of particular notes pay close attention to the stars and the lights used in the movie. Also pay attention to the rain in the jungle, snow and Xibalba. There’s also a lot of the story hidden in the various architectures in the story. Gold, too, carries allot of uses throughout the film.

Then there’s the effects. Folks the effects used on Xibalba are mind blowing. My comparison to '2001' is not an accident. The fluid effects used on Xibalba are as mind-blowing today as the silt-scan process used in the climax of 2001 was in 1968. The effects are also extremely novel in that they are the product of a man from the U.K who has been working with photography of microorganisms. More stunning is the fact that all the effects on Xibalba are principally real life microscopic footage with slight manipulated in post. There is little if any CGI used in these scenes. The concept of the World Ship holding the Tree is also pretty much CGI free using real pieces and miniatures and is hair-raising on more then one level!

Then there’s the lighting in the movie. It in and of itself deserves an Oscar on its own. We as CG artists know the importance of lighting to create realistic scenes. We know it’s important in evoking emotions. Now we also see that it is capable of telling a story all by itself. Please pay attention to the way lighting is used through out this story to tell the story. Yes we see it in all movies but here it’s almost a character all its own.

In the end 'The Fountain' is rich, vibrant, honest yet shrouded, a ghostly story sure to haunt and inspire long after you leave the theater. It’s a short movie coming in at only 96 minutes. Yet it’s the perfect length for this story. Any shorter and it could not have told the story, any longer and it would kill the mythros it creates. But if you want more stay and watch the credits. Yes even the credits are a pure pleasure to watch.

Ratings:

- For a movie going experience I give “The Fountain” - 5.5 out of 5 stars.
This is a movie that should be watched on the large screen to really appreciate the depth it carries! Its also one to get the DVD when it comes out to remind us as artists to not settle for the same old formula.

- For a technical piece of CG and VFX work I give it a - 5 out of 5 stars.

The Fountain

Actors:
Tomas/Tommy/Tom Creo: Hugh Jackman
Isabel/Izzi Creo: Rachel Weisz
Dr Lillian Guzetti: Ellen Burstyn

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Screenplay: Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel
Story By: Ari Handel
Story: Darren Aronofsky

Executive Producer: Nick Wechsler
Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Eric Watson, Iain Smith, Arnon Milchan
Associate Producer: Ari Handel

Special Effects:
Buzz Image Group
Camera e-Motion (motion control)
Giant Killer Robots
Groupe Image Buzz
Intelligent Creatures Inc. (visual effects)
LOOK! Effects Inc. (digital visual effects)
Mokko Studio (digital visual effects)
Proof (pre-visualization)

Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13