The Fountain (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]

The Fountain (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Review

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The Fountain is one of the most brilliant films I have ever encountered. If you read the one-star reviews on Amazon, you will find a number of people who didn't understand the film. I suggest multiple viewings. It is not to be watched casually over popcorn.

For starters, this film gets me to cry EVERY TIME and I've seen it about 8 times now. This occurs at the end where Hugh Jackman's character "gets it" and I'm not one to get leaky when watching movies. This is my exception.

It is easy to get lost in the three layers of the film, so I strongly recommend watching this several times. Some subtle yet crucial points of the film slip by undetected on the first watching. To improve your odds of getting this film the first time around, you should keep in mind the following.

1.) Izzy is dying and her husband Tommy is in denial.
2.) The book is a koan or riddle that Tommy must solve in order to move on.
3.) The bubble is actually a spaceship 500 years in the future (so says Aronofsky).

If you can keep these three straight, you should have a better chance at seeing through the confusion into the brilliance below.

The special effects here are amazing. On a similar note, so is the commentary on the DVD. There's tons on neat info, one section of which is on the special effects. This is a must see. The visual effects are simply breath taking and I look forward to watching this film in HD. This is really quite a visual work of art.

The theme of the film focuses on death and how people cope with it, seemingly taking a page from Kübler-Ross's playbook. Her stages of dying are clearly spelled out in this film and may aid the moviegoer in getting deeper into this film.

Overall, I cannot fathom how anyone could not like this film, unless they didn't understand it. For all one-star nay-sayers, I strongly suggest re-watching it, or perhaps doing some research concerning the themes of this movie. Here are my brief thoughts on the matter...

Spoiler Alert!!!

2000's: Izzy is dying and her husband Tommy is a cancer researcher trying to save her life through research. Izzy is characterized by calm acceptance and a vague sense of spiritual contentment. On the other hand, Tommy is in utter denial of Izzy's condition as he is sure that he can beat death through better science. Through out the film he is in denial, in furious rage and sometimes seemingly bartering with death itself. While he is off at work, Izzy just wants him to be with her; right here and right now. This is the primary tension of the film (and Kübler-Ross's earlier mission), between acceptance and denial. One could look at the entire film as Tommy's path to acceptance.

1500's: Izzy then begins to realize that Tommy may never accept her mortality, so she begins to write a book about 16th century Spain where she and her husband are the figurative lead characters; Queen Isabella and the Conquistador, Thomas. This almost functions as a koan written specifically for Tommy's disposition. In the story, Spain is being crushed by the inquisition and Queen Isabella asks her brave Conquistador to go to Central America to find the tree of life. If he returns successful, she will be his wife, forever. This is clearly an analogy of Tommy trying to prolong their lives forever. But, Izzy has left the last chapter blank. This last chapter begs the question of how are we to view eternal life. Is this possible or even reasonable? Ultimately, what good is it to live forever if we cannot live in the present moment? This is the perversion that Izzy is trying to get Tommy to see past. After many centuries (see 2500's below) Tommy realizes that the story must end with the Conquistador dying. He finds the tree, drinks from its sap and perishes. The eternal life he sought was the re-birth of flowers springing up from his body. The moral, that Izzy tried to teach him in life, was that every death is a sacrifice so that life may continue.

2500's: We are to assume that Tommy beat death through scientific research. His wife is now reborn in a tree which Tommy has scooped up in a spherical, transparent spaceship bubble and is heading to a dying star of Mayan mythology in the hopes of rebirth. He is still, after all this time, completely oblivious to his feelings about his wife's death. The resolution of the film comes when he finishes the final chapter of his wife's incomplete book. Here, he finally confronts the idea that he is in fact going to die. The look on Jackman's face in this scene as his face beams in a smile with tears flowing down his face is absolutely amazing. "I'm going to die" he says. I'm getting shivers just writing about it.

The Fountain (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Feature

The Fountain (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Overview

Spanning over one thousand years & three parallel stories this is a story of love death spirituality & fragility of our existence in this world. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 05/15/2007 Starring: Hugh Jackman Ellen Burstyn Run time: 98 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: M Night Shyamalan

The Fountain (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Specifications

Science fiction and romance collide in The Fountain, the ambitious third feature from director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream), who labored for four years to complete this epic-sized love story that stretches across centuries and galaxies. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz (Aronofsky's real-life companion) play lovers in each of the film's three settings--16th century Europe and America (Jackman is a Spanish explorer searching for Incan magic), the present day (Jackman is a doctor attempting to cure his dying wife), and the 26th century (Jackman is a space traveler seeking a gateway to the afterlife)--who struggle mightily to stay united, only to lose each other time and again. Aronofsky may not have chosen the easiest presentation for audiences to absorb his theories on the lasting qualities of life and the transformative powers of death--the final sequence, in particular, with a bald Jackman floating through space in a bubble, harks back uncomfortably to "head movies" of the late '60s--but his leads have considerable chemistry (and look terrific to boot), which goes a long way towards securing viewers' hopes for a happy ending. Critical reception for The Fountain has been nothing short of bloodthirsty, with Cannes audiences booing, but there are elements to enjoy here, even if the premise throws one for a loop. Ellen Burstyn (who earned an Oscar nomination for Requiem) delivers a typically solid performance as Jackman's boss in the present day sequence, and special effects (most done without the benefit of CGI) are also impressive given the film's low budget (spurred by a mid-production shutdown after original stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett ankled the picture). And science-fiction fans whose tastes run towards the metaphysical (Asimov, Le Guin) will appreciate the attempt to present the genre in a serious light. --Paul Gaita






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Overwhelming, Sad and Beautiful - EB. Seattle - Seattle, Wa
The premise behind the story is painfully simple: a man's struggle to save the woman he loves from dying.First I didn`t know what to think and feel, watching it. First it doesn`t make sense. BUT when we put all 3 parallel stories together, it became something wonderful and breathtaking. First we just watched for the incredible visual effects, and the gorgeous music (Clint Mansell). Now, after watching it 3 times, I LOVE this movie, you just sit down and let it in. I guess people don`t like it who want to`figure it out or solve it`like in other movies, but this one is like a journey, just watch it and enjoy the photographs and the music, and see where it goes, hopefully it will make sense to everyone -if not the 1st but 2nd or 3rd time! Brilliant acting (difficult job), fantastic visual effects and awesome music. Just enjoy it. The film had its world premiere at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2006.[60] Several critics booed The Fountain at the festival's press screening, while the film received a 10-minute standing ovation at the public screening the following evening. It is visually stunning, intellectually and emotionally challenging.
The premise behind the story is painfully simple: a man's struggle to save the woman he loves from dying. Tomas, a 16th century conquistador, is seeking the fabled Fountain of Youth to save the life of Spain's Queen Isabel who risks death at the hands of a merciless Inquisition. Tommy, a 21st century medical researcher, is desperate to find a cure for the brain tumor which threatens the life of his wife, Izzy. Tom, a 26th century explorer, is making a long and desperate journey, seeking to save what he believes to be the very essence of life itself. In the end all three are the same man, wrestling furiously to answer the same questions about life and love.


WHAT WAS THAT???? - night book owl - Thousand Oaks, CA United States
Horrible, boring nonsense! Nothing more to say - just wasted 2 hours (actually I fell asleep, so it wasn't a complete waste). Don't waste money or time on this stinker!

I Loves Movies, Hated This One - Jose O. Morales - Easton PA
I really love movies. They are my number one hobby. But I hated this one. No point at all.