We all know Darren Aronofsky is a specific figure in the world of cinema. His movies are distinguished for their controversy, surreal plots, morality and just the way they are produced. I would say Aronofsky's films are for thinking people, for people who are able to see beyond the obvious things.
My first acquaintance with his production was the movie Requiem for a dream, 2000. I was shocked, impressed and confused at the same time by this film. It is not just a typical movie, it is more than that. It has a strong hidden message that you discover while watching it. Then I watched Black Swan, 2010. Since then I understood that I fell in love with this director. I heard a lot of The Fountain, 2006. There were a lot of both positive and negative reviews. I guess this is one of the factors that indicate the movie is not plain and has something that attracts people's attention and makes them talk about it. Finally, I watched it myself.
During the first scenes you understand you don't understand anything: you see a conquistador fighting against Maya tribe and his queen, then, you see a bald man talking to a tree, this scene is suddenly interrupted by an episode showing the talk between a husband and his wife. When, in the very beginning, you see the change of these episodes, you can barely find out what are they for and what is the main idea of this movie will be. And this is where you want to turn it off and do some different stuff. But if you continue watching, you start seeing what the director wants to show us and you understand all these episodes are connected to each other.
The central idea of the movie is that Tom Creo (Hugh Jackman) is trying to find a cure for his wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz) who is dying from cancer. He tries to fight death. While Tom is busy with his search, Izzy writes a book about Queen Isabella who loses her territories and influence, and her loyal conquistador Tomas Verde goes to the Central America to find the Tree of Life for his Queen. Izzy doesn't finish it. Before she dies, she asks Tom to finish the last chapter of her book. And the third story represents an astronaut Tommy traveling in the space in an enclosed biosphere with the Tree of Life. In all of these story lines the lead roles are performed by Hugh Jackman (Tom Creo, conquistador Tomas Verde, astronaut Tommy) and Rachel Weisz (Izzy, Queen Isabella, Tree of Life). And, in my opinion, these three stories represent Tom's search for the cure, and their message is that no matter how much you try to escape the death, you can't hide from it. The death of the Tree of Life, Conquistador and Izzy shows that very well. It's a natural process that you should accept and don't fight. The refuse of it doesn't make any sense. There can be other interpretations of this movie. It's individual. That was how I understood director's message.
I can't say this is the movie for a broad audience due to its complex and deep plot. If you understand Darren's work and like stories with controversy and hidden sense, you should watch The Fountain. Otherwise, you will be bored by it.
My first acquaintance with his production was the movie Requiem for a dream, 2000. I was shocked, impressed and confused at the same time by this film. It is not just a typical movie, it is more than that. It has a strong hidden message that you discover while watching it. Then I watched Black Swan, 2010. Since then I understood that I fell in love with this director. I heard a lot of The Fountain, 2006. There were a lot of both positive and negative reviews. I guess this is one of the factors that indicate the movie is not plain and has something that attracts people's attention and makes them talk about it. Finally, I watched it myself.
During the first scenes you understand you don't understand anything: you see a conquistador fighting against Maya tribe and his queen, then, you see a bald man talking to a tree, this scene is suddenly interrupted by an episode showing the talk between a husband and his wife. When, in the very beginning, you see the change of these episodes, you can barely find out what are they for and what is the main idea of this movie will be. And this is where you want to turn it off and do some different stuff. But if you continue watching, you start seeing what the director wants to show us and you understand all these episodes are connected to each other.
The central idea of the movie is that Tom Creo (Hugh Jackman) is trying to find a cure for his wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz) who is dying from cancer. He tries to fight death. While Tom is busy with his search, Izzy writes a book about Queen Isabella who loses her territories and influence, and her loyal conquistador Tomas Verde goes to the Central America to find the Tree of Life for his Queen. Izzy doesn't finish it. Before she dies, she asks Tom to finish the last chapter of her book. And the third story represents an astronaut Tommy traveling in the space in an enclosed biosphere with the Tree of Life. In all of these story lines the lead roles are performed by Hugh Jackman (Tom Creo, conquistador Tomas Verde, astronaut Tommy) and Rachel Weisz (Izzy, Queen Isabella, Tree of Life). And, in my opinion, these three stories represent Tom's search for the cure, and their message is that no matter how much you try to escape the death, you can't hide from it. The death of the Tree of Life, Conquistador and Izzy shows that very well. It's a natural process that you should accept and don't fight. The refuse of it doesn't make any sense. There can be other interpretations of this movie. It's individual. That was how I understood director's message.
I can't say this is the movie for a broad audience due to its complex and deep plot. If you understand Darren's work and like stories with controversy and hidden sense, you should watch The Fountain. Otherwise, you will be bored by it.