The Fountain

The Fountain (2006), by Darren Aronofsky, ranks as one of my favorite films ever. Not because of its story structure, execution, special effects, hell, not even for its characters, but because the movie was so ambitious in trying to present three interwoven story lines that dealt with a purely human question - in the presence of death, can love and life transcend time?

Although the movie only received a 51% rating from rottentomatoes.com and a 7.6/10 from imdb.com, the film is a deeply personal one that allowed for me to think about these heady concepts - love, life, death, the afterlife, eternity, etc. - in a visually pleasing way.

The constant use of black and white stills (snow on soil, dalmation-like tiling on the floor, white stars in the night sky) and the image of light at the end of dark tunnels speaks to the metaphor of near-death experiences and the processes/feelings that come out of those experiences.

Darren Aronofsky said that the film is more of an experience than a story. I think he's very correct way in stating that because the movie is presented in a non-linear way as the three story lines contain the same people, but differing time periods (love transcending time).

Go see the film. If not for it's mature take on Mayan, Christian, and Eastern afterlife philosophy, then for its amazing visuals. Remember, this is a movie to experience. Take from it what you can from the first watch and later, watch it a second time to grasp more of its heady concepts.