The Fountain

Kurt Adams

If, for whatever reason, perhaps a pirate holds a pirate knife to my throat and yarns at me that I can only recommend one movie for the whole of my life, or he’ll “cut ye up like an Atlantic Salmon”. It wouldn’t be Bedazzled. It would be, The Fountain.

Well, if anyone in Hollywood would dare make anything worth watching, it’s Darren Aronofsky. If you are unaware of him or his movies, you suck. Firstly he made Pi, which was pretty crazy and very original. The less said the better. Then he made a master piece, Requiem For A Dream. If you don’t know this movie, die. It is the movie going experience that I wish I could get every time they dim the lights. Seriously. That’s not the movie I’m reviewing though.

After this, he wrote and directed the insanely overwhelming experience, The Fountain. A funny footnote on this film is, I got it on his name alone; then I watched the first 5 minutes and thought, what the hell is this, a Mayan spear and conquest story? Not in the mood today, but thanks. Oh how little did I know. I tried to watch it another time when I was bored and I just cringed at the flying spears and crazy Mayan’s of where ever they’re from, Maya perhaps? (Nah just kidding, they lived in Latin America) I must have looked at it about 20 times before I finally decided to sit through it. WOAH. Crazy. What an idiot! The story is three different stories in one. Or two, or one; depends on how you interpret it. It’s got some very good actors in it - Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. It’s got amazing visuals, and it’s got an amazing emotional pull on it harder than a Jewish mother guilting her spawn into earning a million dollars a year before they're 21 or they're disowned, does. But most of all, the films' score will make your ears orgasm with pleasure. I'll come back to this in a moment.

Sometimes I’m not sure if the film really just hit me in some kind of funny way, but I can’t speak enough good about it. Perhaps I’m biased because I already enjoy the director’s work so much. He went on the do The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke, which I thought was really well done, but with less directorial nous. Like perhaps he wanted to take a back seat and let the actor do all the work. I’m not sure, but that’s a whole other story!

So I also want to mention the musical genius behind the score, Clint Mansell. He had previously done Requiem For A Dream, and has gone on to do Moon - unreal banana peal Batman, another freakin’ sweet movie with a crazy awesome score! Here’s another fact: when I was a kid, I really loved Star Wars. My mum bought me, the Star Wars soundtrack on CD. Since then, the only other movie soundtracks I have purchased are The Fountain and Moon. It's all classicaly driven, vilolins and crazy instruments that even though Slipknot has 9 band members, none of them play.

Just a couple more things I’d like to mention: if you like pulp movies (I won’t name any so I don’t offend you all), where you just stare into the light and it pleases you to be with some people in a dark room looking at something as a team, don’t waste this movies’ time. If violence and machismo excite you the way food excites hungry people, join the military. My best advice for you, don’t look at this movie, watch it.