The Fountain

The Fountain
Dir. Darren Aronofsky
62/300

One of the most recommended movies by my readers so far, has finally made the list.  Which is something I find funny since Aronofsky is kind of an acquired taste.  I'm not saying that I don't like his movies, just that I have to be in the right mindset before I view one.  Otherwise, I end up watching it like I watch movies in large groups and just end up talking through it or walking out of the room when something else catches my eye.

The Fountain was different than the rest of his movies that I had seen though.  He tends to not mind having very sad, almost hopeless endings to his movies, but this movie was quite the opposite.  Instead, he seemed to take you through sadness throughout the movie, and the ending seemed hopeful somehow.  I'm not sure I even fully understand the end.  It's definitely up for interpretation.  But, the journey to get there was beautiful.

There were a few moments that I didn't really care much for in the movie though.  I had some mixed emotions about the irony thrown into the mix toward the end.  Tom had just about cured the monkey.  It kind of took away from the sadness and made me feel a little more like face-palming.  At the same time though, it was interesting to see Aronofsky play with the idea of being torn between how he spent his time.  Does he keep racing toward the cure, or does he spend time with his dying wife?  I feel like that had to have been emotions that he toyed with within the torn character of Nina in Black Swan too.  It's interesting to follow a director's work from one project to another like that.

This movie is quite the tear jerker.  I'm not sure I really even stopped crying throughout the view.  But, I would recommend this movie if you liked any other Aronofsky movies or you really enjoy arty emotional dramas.

Viewed on DVD
96 min + 6402 = 6498