The Fountain (2006)
Ellen Burstyn, Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz
An odyssey about one man's eternal struggle to save the woman he loves. His epic journey begins in 16th-century Spain, where conquistador Tomas commences his search for the Fountain of Youth, the legendary entity believed to grant immortality. As modern-day scientist Tommy Creo, he desperately strug... (read more) An odyssey about one man's eternal struggle to save the woman he loves. His epic journey begins in 16th-century Spain, where conquistador Tomas commences his search for the Fountain of Youth, the legendary entity believed to grant immortality. As modern-day scientist Tommy Creo, he desperately struggles to find a cure for the cancer that is killing his beloved wife, Isabel. Traveling through deep space as a 26th-century astronaut, Tom begins to grasp the mysteries that have consumed him for a millennium. The three stories converge into one truth, as the Thomas of all periods--warrior, scientist, and explorer--comes to terms with life, love, death and rebirth.
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PG-13, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed by:
Darren Aronofsky
Release Date: Nov 22, 2006
DVD Release Date: May 18, 2007
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Flixster User Reviews
Wow. This is one of the deepest movies I've ever seen. Simply phenomenal. The visuals are fantastic, and Jackman and Weisz have very strong performances. Watch this movie.
Darren Aronofsky once again made me blow my mind and my load all in my pants when i saw this movie. epic and utterly beautiful. instantly one of my very favorite films.
One of those movies you don't entirely get after you watch but you pick up something new every time you see it. Beautifully made and really interesting
I loved this one. Not all poems are for everyone, nor will the rhetoric of the poet find a home on the ear of all who hear. Images, intricacies and themes repeat to echo points that we begin, we should end and we must live in between. We may miss lif... (read more) I loved this one. Not all poems are for everyone, nor will the rhetoric of the poet find a home on the ear of all who hear. Images, intricacies and themes repeat to echo points that we begin, we should end and we must live in between. We may miss life due our quest to find it or loose love in our quest to keep it forever. Perhaps a bit laden with metaphysical gravitas; none-the-less Aronofsky shows a splendid ability to weave components towards a theme. Dark? -yes; Gloomy? -yes; if that's how one chooses to see it. But eloquent, full of particular questions and indeed the answers within a particular spectrum. I found it visual, intoxicating, poetry.
Definitely not a mainstream film, which I think misleads a lot of people going in. The argument could be made that it's just saying "look at all the breathtaking stuff we came up with!" At the core, I found it to be a story about accepting death as a... (read more) Definitely not a mainstream film, which I think misleads a lot of people going in. The argument could be made that it's just saying "look at all the breathtaking stuff we came up with!" At the core, I found it to be a story about accepting death as a continuation, instead of an end. That's a rather simple explanation however. Cool movie.
A bold idea. The actual story, though rather simple, is obfuscated by the presentation -- a triumvirate of the same characters in different times. This isn't necessarily a problem, but it likely turns a lot of people off. After piecing together the s... (read more) A bold idea. The actual story, though rather simple, is obfuscated by the presentation -- a triumvirate of the same characters in different times. This isn't necessarily a problem, but it likely turns a lot of people off. After piecing together the story, we realize that everything takes place in the present and that the past and future elements are simply the story that Izzi writes and Tommy finishes respectively. All-in-all, the effects were a little overwhelming -- too many blinding lights, not enough dynamic balance -- and there were too many abrupt changes in tone. It was a bold idea and a bold attempt. Though it is far from perfect, that is was executed this well is commendable.
Man I seriously don't understand why everyone seems to love this movie. I just couldn't get into it at all.
Shockingly bad. Shockingly. I wanted to like this film so badly, you have no idea, but it was just failing in every phase of the game.
Critics of this movie complain that this movie doesn't make sense, or that the plot doesn't actually amount to anything. Those are not the kind of people I like.
Highly imaginative and technically impressive, but I felt some diminishing returns in how much I was interested in it toward the last half hour or so.
This movie was beyond confusing. I love both Hugh and Rachel, but this was not a good movie.
"All these years, all these memories, there was you. You pull me through time."
Critic Reviews
I will concede the film is not a great success. Too many screens of blinding lights. Too many transitions for their own sake. Abrupt changes of tone.full review
The movie may have significant truths to impart, although I have my doubts, but it feels too inexperienced, too unworldly, to have earned the right to them.full review
Exquisitely beautiful and almost unbearably sad... The Fountain is cinema as poetry; romance as revelation; science fiction as prayer.full review
The picture is visually intoxicating --- the images have a luminous psychedelic beauty --- and the film's themes emerge elegantly out of the story's intricately-looped tri-level structure.full review
A haunting and remarkable emotional journey that takes us places movies rarely dare to go.full review
In his third feature, Darren Aronofsky tries to replace the prose of narrative cinema with a poetic language of rhyming images and visual metaphors.
With its whispered dialogue and funereal tone, The Fountain takes itself far too seriously. No one else will.full review
I think I finally understand what George H.W. Bush meant by 'a thousand points of light.'full review
Part historical fantasy, part lovers-separated-by-death weeper, part New Age fever dream, The Fountain isn't truly horrible, just very, very silly.full review
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