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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUgC6215Gko Darren Aronofsky. Oh, that cheeky fellow. Sure, he makes movies that have overwrought metaphores and tries to crowbar biblical stuff into science fiction or whatever, but there's also The Fountain. This 2006 movie isn't his most talked about, his most revered or his most reviled, but it is by far my personal favorite of his. I'd go as far as to say that The Fountain is a genuinely beautiful film in every sense of the word. From the golden hue that permeates the film to the staggeringly gorgeous score by Clint Mansell and the Chronos Quartet, and the earnest performances and its themes, it's clear that this film knows what its doing. It aims make death beautiful. And I think it succeeds in it. Some background info: Originally the budget for the film was far higher and had the star-studded cast of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, but wound up having its budget severely cut, forcing a re-casting of the main actors ending up with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in the main parts. Personally, I think it was a good thing; the actors are perfect and the effects, instead of being typical CGI, were instead actual footage of microscopic chemical reactions and phenomena like yeast growing, were not only appropriate, but also worked significantly in the film's favor. For those who don't know, The Fountain takes place in three eras; in the 1500's, the 2000's and the 2500's.  In the 1500's, Tomás Verde is a Spanish conquistador in "New Spain," aka the newly discovered central America, on a quest from his queen, Isabella to find the Tree of Life and the key to immortality. Upon Tomás' discovering it, she has promised to be the "Eve to his Adam." Meanwhile in Spain, the Inquisitor threatens Isabella's rule over Spain.  In the 2000's, Tommy Creo, a gifted brain surgeon, struggles to find a cure for his wife, Izzy, who has terminal brain cancer. His research for the cure is taking away time from his wife and causing strain on their marriage. Izzy is working on her novel, set in 16th century Spain. One night, Tommy catches her stargazing, focusing on a dying star that she calls "Xibalba," pointing out that it is what the Mayans considered to be their afterlife and that while her novel begins in Spain, it ends in Xibalba.  In the 2500's, Tom, a space traveler, is heading for XIbalba in his bubble ship. Inside the ship there is a tree that gives life to Tom. He spends his time meditating, tattooing himself and experiencing flashbacks of his sick wife.  If you've made it this far, make sure you watch the movie because here's where it gets spoilerrific. There are a lot of interpretations of The Fountain, but on the surface level it goes like this: The 2000's storyline is the "main" storyline. Izzy works on her novel and Tommy is off trying to find a cure for her cancer. When he fails and Izzy dies, she leaves her novel for him to finish. One interpretation is this, and it's the one I agree with: Beyond the modern-day parts, Izzy's novel is mostly what we see. The 16th century storyline is already in her novel. In both the 2000's and the 2500's, she begs Tommy to "finish it," meaning both the story in her novel, and Tommy's own life. So Tommy does; he conceives an ending to her novel where he is an ageless space traveler, Tom, on his way to Xibalba, with his wife who has grown into a tree of life from the seed that Tommy put in her grave. The tree is dying however, and can only be reborn through death which can only be granted by Xibalba, a dying star. Tommy is terrified of death but in his grief, through his imagining of Izzy's story and with some help from Izzy herself, he ultimately learns to accept it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdmPrsKV0Kg So what do you think of The Fountain? Love it? Hate it? Were you one of the lucky ones to see it in the theater?
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Jun 30, 2020 00:14
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Haha, the spoiler bits at the end of your post didn't make any more sense to me than the first time I watched the movie, but it is definitely my favorite Aronofsky film. It's just beautiful, aurally and visually. I even bought the graphic novel that he wrote, but I still didn't quite understand it. Also, it's a fun double-feature with Sunshine
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Jun 30, 2020 02:01
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I saw The Fountain as a double feature -- can't remember if the film that preceded it was Rocky Balboa or Casino Royale...) -- after the quarter ended at college. I just happened to have been in a class that covered latin american literature, so the mythmaking about Xibalba and First Father and all that was somewhat fresh in my mind (if, not very clear to be honest). So watching a film that had a good amount of its plot intertwined with a latin american cosmology was really, really moving to me. I've had an unnatural fear of death since I was like loving 18 and loss since I was 11 so every loving point hit like a hammer and I was just agog at the craft I saw, like the echoing scenes where Tom approaches the camera and then the POV is upside down to show his movement away, or the fluid dynamic FX. I will forever curse the Academy for not nominating Mansell's work here for best score. Like holy gently caress, what a snub. There's no replicating that amazing bass drop at the end of Death is the Road to Awe which coincides with the film's climax. Part of what sticks with me is how we juggle the various representations. How the conquistadors are the brunt of the action, how Tommy is where all the interpersonal and common day real poo poo goes down, and how Tom deals with the metaphysical and philosophical and is just as magical real as the conquistador timeline. The Tom scenes have this sense of longing and loss that's just heavy and moving and contemplative. Narzack posted:Haha, the spoiler bits at the end of your post didn't make any more sense to me than the first time I watched the movie, but it is definitely my favorite Aronofsky film. It's probably why a lot of people bounce off of it. You either buy into the space tai-chi as meditative and melding with the soundtrack, or it doesn't work and you have a mishmash that doesn't resolve for you.
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Jun 30, 2020 04:45
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This is one of my favourite films. One of the most beautiful films I've seen. I love the message behind it. I thought Hugh Jackman was fantastic in it. His anguish when Izzy/The tree dies was quite powerful. Him screaming at her to leave him alone, before collapsing in tears and admitting his fear and begging her to tell him what he needs to do (how to write the ending, or maybe to write an ending that he would be ok with?), and then finally accepting his own mortality (and her death too?) genuinely made me cry. (Edit) This bit (although it doesn't include the bit just before it where Izzy dies): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrrPZ3O2jFM And yes, the soundtrack is amazing! DoNotFeedTheBear fucked around with this message at 11:36 on Jun 30, 2020 |
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Jun 30, 2020 11:30
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I feel like I've already posted my thoughts on the film too many times on this forum, but suffice to say I think it's a brilliant film. It raises a lot of interesting questions, but likely has a very simple "reality" to it where the conquistador story is Izzy's book and the spaceship story is Tommy's final chapter to that book, incorporating his own experiences. What I'm curious about is if anyone has any insight into the lighting. Aronofsky has gone on record saying that yellow light and white light are the key to understanding the film, but I don't really see it in anyone's thoughts on the film and it never quite adds up to me on rewatch. Does anyone feel like they have additional insight into this? Also, has anyone listened to the commentary that he put out himself since the studio wouldn't put it on the home release? Looks like it's up on YouTube here. I'm rarely a commentary person but I might have to give this a listen next time I want to revisit the film.
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Jun 30, 2020 20:44
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One of my favorite movies of all time. I love this one. I've spoken a lot about it in the past but it's great.
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Jun 30, 2020 23:03
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feedmyleg posted:I feel like I've already posted my thoughts on the film too many times on this forum, but suffice to say I think it's a brilliant film. It raises a lot of interesting questions, but likely has a very simple "reality" to it where the conquistador story is Izzy's book and the spaceship story is Tommy's final chapter to that book, incorporating his own experiences. Isn't there something about Tom constantly moving towards the light, and that's important? I don't know, I'm usually just too dazzled by everything to figure it out. I worked with a guy last year who was sponsored by Aranofsky for the AFI director's program, and apparently, Aranofsky thinks Fountain is terrible. Which is crazy to us, so we spent a good while just talking about how amazing it is and how it means something different to you based on where you are in life.
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Jul 1, 2020 00:23
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feedmyleg posted:What I'm curious about is if anyone has any insight into the lighting. Aronofsky has gone on record saying that yellow light and white light are the key to understanding the film, but I don't really see it in anyone's thoughts on the film and it never quite adds up to me on rewatch. Does anyone feel like they have additional insight into this? I'd have to rewatch and pay attention, but Iz is wearing white in a lot of scenes, Isabella is clad in gold, and the ending with Xibalba has bits of yellow and white leading to Tommy standing next to Izzy's grave amidst a field of white snow.
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Jul 1, 2020 00:46
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I haven't seen this movie in over 10 years, but the soundtrack and visual style still stick with me now. Just a great experience all round. I saw this (deleted?) scene recently from the future setting, where he's just brewing some mushroom tea with no dialogue. It wasn't in any version I watched but really captures the feeling of the movie, at least my memory of it. The soundtrack is of course amazing as well. https://youtu.be/sdmPrsKV0Kg
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Jul 1, 2020 02:55
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I saw this movie completely randomly when I was fresh out of Basic Training in 2006. Knew nothing about it, although I think I'd seen a trailer a few times here and there. A bunch of us were just stir crazy with money to burn and needed something to do, so we saw as many movies in a row as we could - I think the others were a Saw sequel and maybe Casino Royale? I was blown away by this movie and I've watched it regularly in the... nearly 15 years since then (goddamn where does the time go). It's not a perfect film but everything is just so great. The performances are stellar, Jackman's vulnerability and grief just knocks you over. I know Pitt and Blanchett were supposed to be in it but somehow that sounds like a lesser pairing to me. The design, the effects, the score. This movie alone made me an eternal fan of Mansell. So many perfect sequences, from the Last Man doing tai chi on his bubble ship to the conquistadors springing the temple ambush trap to Tommy's fervor and distraction in his work. Can't say enough good things. The interpretation that the modern day Tommy is the real one and the others are just part of Izzy's novel makes sense but I've always felt like it was only feasible because something important was being overlooked. Going to have to find some time to watch it again with that commentary for sure.
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Jul 1, 2020 22:21
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Has anyone read the graphic novel based on the original version of the film? I've heard it's not very good, but I'm curious how that colors the interpretation of the final film.
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Jul 1, 2020 23:26
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The soundtrack is just superb! Mogwai and Clint Mansell was a match made in heaven
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Jul 2, 2020 22:03
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Narzack posted:Haha, the spoiler bits at the end of your post didn't make any more sense to me than the first time I watched the movie, but it is definitely my favorite Aronofsky film. It's just beautiful, aurally and visually. I even bought the graphic novel that he wrote, but I still didn't quite understand it. Also, it's a fun double-feature with Sunshine It is a good double feature with Sunshine, both being really underrated science fiction films by auteur filmmakers from around the same era. FilthyImp posted:I saw The Fountain as a double feature -- can't remember if the film that preceded it was Rocky Balboa or Casino Royale...) -- after the quarter ended at college. I just happened to have been in a class that covered latin american literature, so the mythmaking about Xibalba and First Father and all that was somewhat fresh in my mind (if, not very clear to be honest). So watching a film that had a good amount of its plot intertwined with a latin american cosmology was really, really moving to me. Also I never caught the Inquisitor demonstrating a brain haemorrage on the map of Spain, nice catch! DoNotFeedTheBear posted:This is one of my favourite films. One of the most beautiful films I've seen. I love the message behind it. I thought Hugh Jackman was fantastic in it. His anguish when Izzy/The tree dies was quite powerful. Him screaming at her to leave him alone, before collapsing in tears and admitting his fear and begging her to tell him what he needs to do (how to write the ending, or maybe to write an ending that he would be ok with?), and then finally accepting his own mortality (and her death too?) genuinely made me cry. Narzack posted:Isn't there something about Tom constantly moving towards the light, and that's important? I don't know, I'm usually just too dazzled by everything to figure it out. Mat Cauthon posted:I saw this movie completely randomly when I was fresh out of Basic Training in 2006. Knew nothing about it, although I think I'd seen a trailer a few times here and there. A bunch of us were just stir crazy with money to burn and needed something to do, so we saw as many movies in a row as we could - I think the others were a Saw sequel and maybe Casino Royale? I was blown away by this movie and I've watched it regularly in the... nearly 15 years since then (goddamn where does the time go). The commentary is also absolutely worth listening to; I remember Aronofsky talking about this (amazing) scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N242jaihDwo And saying something about there being controversy about filming it because it's not "cool" to see a male protagonist crying so openly, but of course Jackman nailed it and made it just about the most heartwrenching scene in the film. feedmyleg posted:Has anyone read the graphic novel based on the original version of the film? I've heard it's not very good, but I'm curious how that colors the interpretation of the final film. I read it about a decade ago when I first saw the movie and fell in love with it, and I do remember it not being very good; the art style was slightly offputting and if I recall, and please correct me on this if I'm wrong, it's just a graphic novel version of the script with some tiny bits added/changed but I don't remember it being particularly impactful when compared, or in addition to the film itself. battlepigeon posted:The soundtrack is just superb! Mogwai and Clint Mansell was a match made in heaven Yes! Let's just get this out of the way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whuf6C_T8tc Stare-Out fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Jul 2, 2020 |
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Jul 2, 2020 22:29
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PAGANS!!  
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Jul 4, 2020 06:20
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The Fountain is the only Aronofsky film I haven’t seen
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Jul 4, 2020 15:24
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sponges posted:The Fountain is the only Aronofsky film I haven’t seen Having seen the others, how do you feel about him as a filmmaker? When I saw The Fountain, I only knew Requiem for a Dream (which I didn't enjoy but appreciated) so I didn't have much of a picture of him which I suppose allowed me to go in fairly open minded, but had I seen movies like Noah, mother! Black Swan and The Wrestler, I honestly don't think I would've had a good first impression of The Fountain which I think works better if you take into account his work up until that film. For the record, I don't dislike any of his films. mother! is probably at the bottom of the list for me though I don't hate it or anything, I just find it tremendously clumsy and overwrought, if enjoyable for the spectacle. Unlike many, I enjoyed Noah a whole lot and The Wrestler and Black Swan I think are simply solid, "good" movies. Pi is one I should watch again though because I saw it years ago and had a hard time connecting with it.
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Jul 4, 2020 15:32
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Stare-Out posted:Having seen the others, how do you feel about him as a filmmaker? He’s one of the more interesting and ambitious filmmakers working today
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Jul 4, 2020 16:47
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I've heard from someone in a position to know that he's a dick to the writers he works with and demands screenplay credit regardless of involvement. Sure does make drat interesting movies, though.
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Jul 4, 2020 17:02
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feedmyleg posted:I've heard from someone in a position to know that he's a dick to the writers he works with and demands screenplay credit regardless of involvement. Sure does make drat interesting movies, though. This is disappointing. As a film maker he is good and I like his work and prefer ambitious with flaws than mediocre and safe work. I love Fountain, Noah and I did like Mother! it’s a good trifecta but if you say he demands credit from his writers/scripters regardless of involvement then those guys deserve a lot because without that he’d be just good instead of great.
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Jul 4, 2020 17:37
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feedmyleg posted:I've heard from someone in a position to know that he's a dick to the writers he works with and demands screenplay credit regardless of involvement. Sure does make drat interesting movies, though. I've heard something similar to this. There was also the thing where he and Matthew Libatique had a bad relationship after The Fountain and almost didn't work together again, which is one of the reasons why Libatique didn't shoot The Wrestler. They eventually made up but I remember hearing in some interviews that Libatique was a little bitter about the experience of working on it and didn't know if he was going to work with Aronofsky again after that.
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Jul 4, 2020 17:38
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He's a good filmmaker and I'll give props to anyone who tries to do something original no matter what it ends up being but he does come across as someone who is a bit up his own rear end though so I wouldn't be surprised if he's tough to work with. But for The Fountain alone I'll give him a huge pass considering he wrote the thing too. sponges posted:He’s one of the more interesting and ambitious filmmakers working today
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Jul 4, 2020 17:42
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Killer soundtrack
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Jul 4, 2020 19:39
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precision posted:Killer soundtrack I remember disliking this movie enormously in theaters, but it's been so long I don't know why. Only remember being disappointed greatly after following what it would have been with brad pitt originally, thinking the soundtrack was awesome and being impressed by the choice of the organic optical effect stuff instead of CGI. I sorta wanna check it out again, but I have a feeling I'll just not like it all over again. e: i distinctly remember tons of scenes and details about requiem, pi, the wrestler, black swan, and mother..the only thing i can recall from this one is a fuzzy memory of hugh jackman as a conquistador, and then in a black monk outfit with a buzz cut..weird. Like i totally blocked this one out after I saw it. zer0spunk fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Jul 4, 2020 |
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Jul 4, 2020 21:31
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feedmyleg posted:I've heard from someone in a position to know that he's a dick to the writers he works with and demands screenplay credit regardless of involvement. Sure does make drat interesting movies, though. I have heard similar things and it's a large reason that his RoboCop movie fell apart (that and he couldn't get along with the Sony / MGM people).
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Jul 4, 2020 21:40
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Stare-Out posted:I read it about a decade ago when I first saw the movie and fell in love with it, and I do remember it not being very good; the art style was slightly offputting and if I recall, and please correct me on this if I'm wrong, it's just a graphic novel version of the script with some tiny bits added/changed but I don't remember it being particularly impactful when compared, or in addition to the film itself. That's pretty much it, the graphic novel was created when the original plans fell through and Darren thought this was the only way to get the story out there.
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Jul 4, 2020 22:25
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zer0spunk posted:I remember disliking this movie enormously in theaters, but it's been so long I don't know why. Only remember being disappointed greatly after following what it would have been with brad pitt originally, thinking the soundtrack was awesome and being impressed by the choice of the organic optical effect stuff instead of CGI. Same actually, except for me I just have a vague memory of thinking it was "fine", and that the lack of budget was super obvious in the 1500s scenes. Every other movie of his, I could probably name 9/10 scenes in it
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Jul 4, 2020 22:38
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Macdeo Lurjtux posted:That's pretty much it, the graphic novel was created when the original plans fell through and Darren thought this was the only way to get the story out there. Its been forever since I've read it but the only thing I really remember being different in the graphic novel version is a scene where Tom leaves the ship to deal with a meteor storm.
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Jul 5, 2020 03:48
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This is a movie I would call a favorite, even though I rented it from Netflix back in like 2008 and have never seen it again. I own it on Blu-Ray but it's still shrink-wrapped. I was just so emotionally devastated by it that I can never quite muster the guts to watch it again, even though it's hauntingly beautiful. I've listened to the score about half a billion times, though.
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Jul 5, 2020 13:43
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It's definitely a movie I watch only when I'm in a bad emotional space.
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Jul 5, 2020 15:06
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Loved the , "First Father, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you" moment. Very powerful.
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Jul 6, 2020 23:59
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Chiming in to say this one of my top 10 of all time and Im so drat happy theres a thread for it. Cant wait to read through the posts so far!
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Jul 7, 2020 02:45
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ALFbrot posted:This is a movie I would call a favorite, even though I rented it from Netflix back in like 2008 and have never seen it again. I own it on Blu-Ray but it's still shrink-wrapped. If you bought the Blu-ray a while ago it won’t work. Some PIP commentary thing comes up and you can’t get rid of it. They did a recall for a few months but I didn’t notice the problem until well after they stopped doing it of course. E: Ignore this, I was thinking of Sunshine, not the Fountain. I’m sure your still shrink wrapped Blu-ray is fine. EvilBlackRailgun fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Jul 8, 2020 |
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Jul 8, 2020 21:16
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EvilBlackRailgun posted:If you bought the Blu-ray a while ago it won’t work. Some PIP commentary thing comes up and you can’t get rid of it. They did a recall for a few months but I didn’t notice the problem until well after they stopped doing it of course. That's a relief, because this thread has me itching to finally open and watch it this weekend.
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Jul 9, 2020 18:34
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Well, not that anyone needed my confirmation, but hot drat this movie still kicks my rear end. Not to be too depressingly literal, but I've always felt that future Tom is actually real (a magical real, anyway), with Tom's research leading him to conquer aging and disease. When he reaches Xibalba and makes peace with his death, it supernovas and he is reborn, not only as life for Izzi's tree, but a spiritual rebirth that places him back at the critical inflection point we see repeated: does he remain obsessively focused on his work and neglect his dying love, or does he follow her into the unknown and accompany her in her final moments of grace? Regarding the yellow/white thing, I'm sure there's more to it, but white appears to be the color of the wisdom of acceptance of death and rebirth, while yellow is the color of fear and struggle against the unknown. The entire Conquistadore segment is bathed in yellow, save when the gold-clad queen lets in the morning light to give Tomas his quest. Bathed in a brilliant white light, she gives a thinly-veiled metaphor for her cancer and tells him to wear the ring when he finds Eden, and together they will live forever. Then, he does not go for the walk in the snow with her, abandoning her to stay in his dark lab, bathed in yellow and desperately struggling to defeat death. He removes the ring to scrub for surgery, and it mysteriously disappears. When he has his inspiration to use the piece of the tree, it's through looking up at a bright white light; however, the skylight tints it yellow, twisting the knowledge for his purpose. Izzi steps into a blindingly white light in the museum and collapses. When she awakes, she remarks that in that moment, she felt whole, and she was no longer afraid. In the future, there is very little light or color at all and he is dressed all in deep black, as he is near the end of his struggle and can do nothing but wait. As Izzi's memory continues to prod him and he watches her tree wither and die, his clothes lighten and he is bathed in Xibalba's light. Finally, his clothes are brilliant white and his skin is ghostly pale as he ascends the tree, emerges from the bubble, and embraces his mortality. It is in that moment that he has reached Eden, as it not only contains the tree of Life, but the tree of Wisdom. That is when he finds the ring out of nowhere, places it on his finger, and is obliterated by Xibalba, spreading him through the cosmos and revitalizing Izzi's tree. Together in love and death, they live forever. I apologize if that's a little surface-level, I'm bad at reading movies and too often take things at face value. edit: Also, I've done a lot of thinking, and I can't name a single cinematic moment as breathtaking as the supernova ALFbrot fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Jul 14, 2020 |
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Jul 13, 2020 19:43
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I mostly remember this movie not for that iut ever came out but that it was meant to be like 200 million dollars and Brad Pitt grew this monstrosity for it. Pitt dropped out to sign on to be Achilles in Troy. This was meant to be a true epic.
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Jul 15, 2020 06:14
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I've yet to do my yearly rewatch of this movie because I'm waiting for it to snow. Something about having it snow outside and yellow streetlights shining in while you watch this movie makes it so much better.
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Sep 14, 2020 22:40
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