alright, i am finally writing about the fountain. it has been called everything from "pretentious crap" to "the next 2001: a space odyssey". i was obviously expecting the world, because the director, darren aronofsky, made my first love, "pi". in my eyes, he can do no wrong.
i wanted to watch the film at least twice before writing, but i haven't been able to. so i don't really feel like i've had an opportunity to fully immerse myself in the film. "enough excuses!", you say, "just tell us what you thought!". ok.
the fountain left me wondering. the fountain left me wanting. the fountain challenged me. the fountain amazed me. i did not leave the theater on a cinematic high, as i did after i saw "the prestige". i was fidgety during the movie. i was overly watching the film, i think. the music was amazing. the cinematography was unique and had the aronofsky/libatique trademark. the acting was, for the most part, great. the film had a texture that you could feel and feel like you could touch.
so was it the greatest film you've ever seen in the world and you love it more than anything aronofsky's ever done or will do ever ever ever? in a word no. and here's why. first of all, i've seen it once. i don't care what you say, typically your favorite movie is something you've seen multiple times, have been able to thoroughly analyze and take many things from. this takes repeat viewings.
secondly, i felt the character development wasn't nearly as strong as it has been in his previous films. this could be one of two things. either it just did really suck......or warner brothers' edits hampered this. i know edits were made to the film, and i'll be interested to see the director's cut that comes out on DVD. this film as epic, a sweeping love story. and i just wasn't 100% completely sold on becoming deeply emotionally involved with the characters.
thirdly, this film was completely different than anything aronofsky's done up to this point. the fountain is extremely unconventional, very personal, and downright confusing at points. does this make it bad? no, it just makes it a different movie, meaning........it needs to be watched differently than a traditional narrative film. one person i saw reviewing the film said something to the effect of, "the fountain isn't so much a piece of film as it is a piece of art". there is no beginning, middle, and end like in a "normal" movie. it's poetic. it's very visual. the camera is the brush. what you get out of the film is how willing you are to let aronofsky paint on you. cheesy yes, but it's true.
if you haven't seen the film yet, don't expect an action movie, or a science fiction movie, or a romance movie. it's pieces of all of those thrown together. it's an experience. maybe for aronofsky, this was his 2001. pretentious? not hardly. the people who write that are watching the movie wrong, and have no freaking clue about aesthetics. not my favorite aronofsky film, but i'm sure it'll grow on me. it'll be bought the day it comes out on DVD. the soundtrack is AWESOME.
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