Rarely does a movie come along that captures my imagination and instantly vaults onto my list of all-time favorites. It has happened twice in recent years with Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Kim’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring — both sent my mind spinning. It happened again in 2006 with The Fountain.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream), The Fountain tells three different stories involving the same characters in three widely different time periods. There is an ancient story of Spanish conquistador Tomas (Hugh Jackman), Queen Isabel (Rachel Weisz), a Grand Inquisitor, and the discovery of the Tree of Life hidden amidst some Mayan pyramids. There is a contemporary story of Dr. Tom (Jackman) and Izzy (Weisz) with her dying from a brain tumor and him frantically performing experiments on lab monkeys trying to find a cure. Finally, there is Tom (Jackman) flying through space toward a dying star in a bubble containing a large tree.
Now that’s a lot of information for a 96 minute movie to juggle, but Aronofsky pulls it off. In terms of plot, there has been little disagreement as to what is going on. In the contemporary story, Izzy is writing a book – her poetic thoughts on what she and Tom are going through – and the film’s editing makes it very clear that the ancient scenes are what Tom imagines as he reads her book. The book is an allegory, with the Grand Inquisitor’s actions and his covering a map with blood representing Izzy’s cancer, and Tomas’ attempt to kill the Grand Inquisitor representing Tom’s effort to conquer the cancer. (Izzy refers to Tom as her conquistador.)
There has been some disagreement as to which of the other two time periods is the present. Some feel that the contemporary material is the present and that the space material is all in Tom’s mind as he attempts to write the final chapter of her book. Others consider the space material to be the present and the contemporary material consists of Tom’s memories seen in flashback. I think that the editing and cinematography better support this second take, not to mention Aronofsky’s own statements in its favor. Either reading is entirely supportable though and leads to its own uniquely gratifying way of seeing the film.
Article comments
1 - bibbyroo
very interesting disection of the meaning behind the story. i hadnt ever thought of the different shapes and their meanings.
nice work.
2 - patrick
The Fountain was pretty good if somewhat trippy, an interesting blend of religious/cultural/scientific ideals to say the least