"The Fountain"

Last September, my cousin and her husband went to a screening of "The Fountain" at the Atlantic Film Festival. I stayed at their place overnight to look after my little cousin, and once they got home they told me about the film. From the sounds of it, "The Fountain" was just my cup of tea. I couldn't wait until November for it to come out in wide release.

As often happens, both my schedule and my finances didn't co-operate when the film came out. I'd just returned from a dream-come-true trip to Toronto to see the gala opening of the ballet in their new theatre, so any money I had left was routed towards Christmas. Once Christmas came and I'd received movie passes, "The Fountain" was gone from theatres.

So I waited. Waited and waited. Not really patiently for me, and I'm known as very patient. When it comes to waiting for film releases, either first run or DVD release, I'm not patient by any means. I'd started to ask Brad if he would be bringing it home from work soon (he works at Blockbuster, and takes home films one week before they're released to the public so he can give an informed opinion to customers. This is encouraged by Blockbuster, but Brad takes this solemn duty very seriously. He pretty much brings home 10 films per week - the limit. The other Blockbuster coworkers are not nearly so devoted. But if you want to know anything about any film, ever, just ask Brad. By the way, this is an open invitation to anyone who has a film question. If you have one, leave it in my comments section regardless of the day's blog subject, and I'll find out for you.)

Last night Brad was at work and I settled onto the couch to finally watch "The Fountain" at long last. Hugh Jackman is a big fave and he did not disappoint. I knew from talking to my cousin that there would be lots of emotional scenes in it for him, and I love those! And Rachel Weisz is one of my favorite actresses, so we're into the win-win situation.

Plus, it's super-philosphical, highly spiritual, filled with gorgeous cinematography, has a haunting musical score and doesn't follow conventional Hollywood structure. Just the way I like 'em. Here's a few review comments:

"Some people hate this movie. It happens these days when the ambitions of a filmmaker, in this case Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream), rise above the level of Big Mama's House 2." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone magazine

"Hippy trippy space odyssey-meets-contempo-weepy-meets-conquistador caper starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Greeted by booing at its first press unspooling. Audiences can parse which is going on when by paying attention to how much hair Jackman is sporting at any given time." - Lesie Felperin, Variety.com

"The Fountain isn't "this year's Eternal Sunshine". It isn't the "next Space Odyssey", although I can assure you, if you enjoyed either of these two films (and preferably both), you should find much in The Fountain that will appeal to you. It's a movie that many people will not like, perhaps even hate. But I was profoundly affected by it. See it. Decide for yourself. It's definitely one incredible film experience." - Monotreme02, IMDb User Comments

"Film is an artform and Aronofsky is a Picasso" - : Erica von Essen (Flagrant-Baronessa), IMDb User Comments

"After hearing that this movie got booed by critics and hailed by the public audience in Venice, I knew it had to be good. A movie that could split crowds just had to be." - dj sam r i, IMDb User Comments

"There is a certain amusement ride feel to some of the cinematography and Special Effects. But, these shots are not gimmicks. They're premonitions and echoes of action in other sequences. They are crazy bold, like Van Gogh's brushstrokes tracing out a landscape. A new transcendental film" - warren-10, IMDb User Comments

I'm about to sit down for my second viewing of the film, now that Brad is home. He watched it earlier today. It's definitely a two-viewing sort of movie. It comes out this Tuesday for rental. All who dare, have a look.