IMDb user comments for
The Fountain (2006) More at IMDbPro »

Filter:	Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:
Comments from users who voted this title more than 7.5.

Page 1 of 43:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Index

423 matching comments (761 comments in total)

---

654 out of 870 people found the following comment useful :-
Absolutely Fantastic, 28 September 2006

Author: Jenn Brown from Austin, TX

Fantastic in every sense. This film is indeed poetry, and a beautiful testament to love and the cycle of life, and the impermanence of death. Wow. The script is tight, and the non-linear presentation works very well. The scene compositions were exquisite. The score enhanced without being overbearing, which is so often the case in contemporary film.

The acting is absolutely superb, but then it's got Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. I can't imagine Brad Pitt doing any sort of justice to this film. Darren Aronofsky lucked out in the long run by getting someone who has the range to portray the vast emotions required for Tomas/Tommy/Tom. Weisz has the depth for regal intrigue and spirited grace. Their chemistry makes their stories even more entrancing.

This film does require a thinking brain to be appreciated.

---

361 out of 517 people found the following comment useful :-
The Path to Life, 18 October 2006

Author: LarkWithakay from United States

I had the immense pleasure of viewing this film for its second screening ever, when it was showcased at Chicago's International Film Festival. Fans of Aronofsky who enjoyed the intensity of 'PI' and 'REQUIEM FOR A DREAM' will find that Darren's primary thematic focus has shifted yet again from the mind and gut ('PI' and 'REQUIEM', respectively) to the heart. However, don't take this to mean that 'THE FOUNTAIN' isn't intellectually engaging or visceral in its impact.

In a word, this film is warm. Aronofsky's palette for his third feature is a swirling miasma of golden yellows, and it sets the tone for the work. 'THE FOUNTAIN' is a life-affirming treatise on the eternity of love. Cynical hacks might decry this as a mawkish, facile rumination of saccharine proportions, but despite the sentimental themes, the film is never cloying, opting instead for a (sur)realistic portrayal of the nuances of one of life's most powerful emotions.

The casting was superb: Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman are outstanding in their roles, with both offering utterly believable performances. Weisz reveals the same depths she did in 'THE CONSTANT GARDENER', portraying myriad subtleties in a role that could've easily been misplayed, starring as Jackman's love throughout time. For those who've only seen Jackman in action-oriented mutant movies, his command of his character's strengths AND frailties is a welcome surprise. The supporting cast was excellent as well, with Ellen Burstyn standing out in particular.

Special effects were phenomenal, even without taking the film's halved budget into consideration. I won't spoil the surprise, but when you find out how Aronofsky and Co. achieved some of the extraordinary images, you're sure to be impressed (and reminded of a film classic from over 25 years ago). This is not a film to rely on FX, though. In fact, the segment (not scene; the story is split across three time periods) using the bulk of the effects is probably the shortest.

Aronofsky ambitiously tackles heavy themes and concepts and he does it in a little over 90 minutes. I didn't realize how short the film was until it was over. However, 'THE FOUNTAIN's brevity could also be perceived as an extension of one of its themes: learning to appreciate the world and its beauty in whatever time we are allotted.

---

249 out of 340 people found the following comment useful :-
Extraordinary film with Great performances by Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman, 4 September 2006

Author: forceoftruth

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I got into a screening by chance a few weeks ago to see a film called The Fountain up here in New York. I was about to see another film while a young woman approach my wife and I about a free screening while I was about to purchase my tickets. Now I have heard that special screenings are common and they happen at random, so we took her up on her offer right away and followed her inside the theater to a screening room. Now considering that the film was free, we were going to take it in stride that it might not be any good and just go along for the experience. Long and behold, the movie started and we were treated to one of the most intelligent and emotional films we have ever seen. Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman play eternal lovers who are destine to live in tragedy though their several incarnations over time (Past, Present and Future). Thou these experiences, they are forced to look at the meaning of life and death and if there is a way to prolong their love thou it all. The running theme in the film is about acceptance, wheatear it's trying to live your life to the fullest or to die with dignity and that is more represented in the present day time line of the film where Huge's character is trying to save his wife (Rachel's character) from an inoperable brain tumor. This segment of the film is where the film's emotional bread and butter come from and in my opinion the best part of the whole movie. There is a realistic chemistry between Hugh and Rachel and it carries the far reaching premise of the film with such emotional gravity that you are able to feel their love for each other. Rachel Weisz has always been one of my favorite actors and here she delivers her best performance to date with such passion and such grace that you can literally feel her inside of your heart. She makes her character a real three dimensional person, with real flaws, real fears and real bravery. In any lesser actress's hands, Weisz's role would have been a sad stereotype of a dying woman who is brave in the face of death, in Weisz's powerful hands however, she makes her human and that in my opinion is even more heroic and realistic. Hugh Jackman is extraordinary as well and this performance will prove to everyone that he's among the best actors we have around. In any other lesser actor's hands, Jackman's role would have been the stereotypical man on a mission to save his wife but in Jackman's hands, he give an emotional complex performance of a man who is trying to come to grips with his own fears of loss while watching his wife slowly comes to grips with her own mortality. The climax of the film is set on some kind of spiritual plain where all the stories of the characters come together to give an impression of ever lasting life and renewal.

To make a long review short, it's a great film that my wife and I were completely taken by surprise with and it really had us talking once it was over.

---

272 out of 409 people found the following comment useful :-
Congratulations Aaronofsky! You redefined the sci-fi genre!, 17 November 2006

Author: newmarketsun from Dallas

Easily the best film I've seen this year. Although definitely not something for everyone, as a lot of people will probably think it's difficult (which it is). But going into the film open-minded, and just taking it all in (the beautiful cinematography/visual effects, powerful writing, wonderful direction) you'll no doubt have the time of your life. It's more thought provoking and emotionally/visually draining than anything else I've ever seen (somewhere along the lines of "Donnie Darko" or "2001"). I can't say enough good things about it honestly. I just can't wait to go see it again. No doubt a movie that will be talked about for years, and will probably be under-appreciated forever.

---

148 out of 197 people found the following comment useful :-
Death is the Road to Awe, 15 October 2007

Author: MConley7 from United States

This is not a film for any one public. Americans, often ignorant of philosophy and mythology (by and large) would stumble awkwardly through much of the film, wondering what the hell is going on. Others still would prefer to call the film pretentious and drenched in metaphysical bull----. Woe it is to the archetypes. No one knows how to reach the elemental, the archetypal arena of human experience anymore; a fact proved by so many other reviewers penchant for searching for the "realism" within the movie. (cf. Roger Ebert's review; this is a thoroughly stupid and ignorant way of viewing such a film...it seems that the Divine Comedy would be cast aside today, because Dante does not describe Paradise in a "realistic" fashion. Which of course is worse than nonsense...its f---ing stupid.)

The problem many people have with this film is that they see it as a story about two people, and not two archetypes that are elemental within human mythology (first man and first woman). It is interesting to note how Jackman becomes Western man (furious and daring, he hopes to reach beyond nature, to become a 'superman,' while not understanding that he is not simply a product of nature but very much a PART of nature) and Weisz becomes the embodiement of Eastern thought (her submission to the truth of nature (death) is not a submission, but an understanding of the tide of life, an understanding Tom, in all his embodiements, does not possess). I see a purity in the representation of first man and first woman, a purity that allows me to see the characters as archetypes that resemble the spiritual forces that have driven us for our eternity.

Ebert said that it is a standard critical practice not to create a fiction that was not implicit within the film; but with a film like The Fountain, there are so many interpretations and meanings...deep thoughts linger in me while I watch, an ocean of experiences that dwells inside me, calm and enveloping. Interpretaions can, in their own rights, be works of art, if what they interpret, in itself, is beautiful. I will not pretend that my interpretation is right, complete, or a work of art; but what I have seen and felt from this film has filled me with something I cannot describe--if the definition was not insufficient, I would call it God--yet so many pass by it with scorn and rolling eyes. I hope some will see in it what I have felt pass through so many times...or at least to understand, at the very least, that just because a movie doesn't touch you, it does not mean that your perception of the movie is, in itself, truth; it is merely an opinion like mine. On art there is no truth, except the pieces we craft ourselves.

---

167 out of 244 people found the following comment useful :-
63rd Venice Film Festival: The Fountain, 4 September 2006

Author: movie_man2006 from Brazil

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Some things are just unforgettable. Some experiences will just stick in your mind forever.

The 63rd Venice Film Festival has already featured two amazing movies. However, today I was stunned like I was never before in my whole life. Just a few hours after saying I had found the best movie of the year, Darren Arronofsky presents Italy with the ultimate masterpiece of the 21th century: ''The Fountain''.

I just can't go easy on the adjectives here. This is, without a doubt, the best movie of the 21th century (!!!) and the best science-fiction film since 2001 (This is were Children of Men would come in third). The ambitious story deals with three generations. In the 1500s, a Spanish conquistador named Tomás (Hugh Jackman, Oscar-deserving) is sent by a queen (Rachel Weisz, marvelous) to look for a tree that is believed to give oneself eternal life. In the modern days, Thomas is trying to find the cure of cancer so he can save his wife. That cure may be contained inside the bark of a strange tree. This is where the story mostly takes place, the real core of the movie. In the future, Jackman (curiously still playing the scientist) is a lone man that travels around space inside a bubble with nothing with him except the tree.

This is a one-of-a-kind experience that you just will not be able to define. Seeing this magnificent journey on screen only makes the trip better. Arronofsky has finally achieved his career height with this perfect masterpiece. Never has something so profound and colossal struck me like ''The Fountain'' has done right now.

They say an image is worth one thousand words. ''The Fountain'', then, must be a glossary of beauty. Gorgeous images are seen throughout the incredibly short movie (only 1 hour and 40 minutes), specially throughout the last segment of the film. And when the ending strikes you, you will just feel the same way as if an arrow filled with peace struck your heart. By the end of the session, I was crying like I never cried in a movie before. And I wasn't the only one.

Perhaps the saddest image I've seen during the screening were some people booing this magnificent picture. I can fully understand their opinion, but I felt numb. How couldn't they be touched the same way as I was? How come they couldn't feel what me and some more people felt after that? It was immensely sad for something like that to happen. Maybe they just weren't ready to be surprised like that. I might never know...

As I walked out the screening, it wasn't very hard to hear the name ''2001- A Space Odyssey'' among viewers. This was an unique film experience, a mature science fiction, just like ''2001''. And I believe their legacy will go on forever. ''The Fountain'' is a philosophical journey through the ideas of life, love, loss, and hope.

To top it off, I might add the performances were all Oscar deserving. Jackman deserves a instant nomination, and he is my favorite so far. The Academy Awards just won't be able to leave this one behind, for this is the best movie in decades. The Golden Lion, in my point of view, already has a winner.---10/10

---

206 out of 323 people found the following comment useful :-
The Fountain: Heart-Breakingly Beautiful, 17 October 2006

Author: stoner_839 from United States

I do not know how to sum this movie up in this review, and to try to would be an injustice to Darren Aronofsky's genius. So I will just state the facts. I saw this film at the Chicago International Film Festival. I was blown away. This movie is so original and so breath taking. There is only one word that I can use to describe it: BEAUTIFUL. Darren Aronofsky is a genius and the greatest film-maker of our time. He is a visionary, and one of the greatest script writers. Hugh Jackman's performance ranks among the greatest male screen performances in cinema history. Rachel Weisv is amazing, as is Ellen Burnstyn, and Sean Patrick Thomas. Clint Mansell teams up with The Kronos Quartet and the Scottish rock band Mogwai to bring us some of the most beautiful and epic music I have ever heard. Matthew Libatique's cinematography is breath taking. It is so simple, yet so effective and so amazing. Jay Robinowitz deserves special mention here because the movie is so well put together it flows, and as an editor myself, I can understand how hard that must have been. The three time lines weave in and out of each other flawlessly. This movie is so good I need to see it again in order to catch all of it, but this taste will be enough to sustain me for another month, when I will surely see it four or five times. This movie is about themes bigger than you can possibly imagine, and it will take some thinking, and it is genius. In my opinion, the best movie I have ever seen.

---

139 out of 216 people found the following comment useful :-
Exceptional film-making, 17 September 2006

Author: from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I was fortunate to see this at the Toronto Film Festival. While I have not seen Requiem for a Dream or Pi, I was fascinated by this film after hearing about the reaction in Venice. This is one of the most thought provoking & evocative movies I have ever seen. I think it is a movie that people will either love or hate, there doesn't appear to be a middle ground.

While introducing the film, in Toronto, Rachel Weisz commented that Aronofsky asks a lot from his actors, this appears to be true and most certainly pays off. Hugh Jackman's gut-wrenching and emotional performance is phenomenal. This is undoubtedly his best performance and, as far as I'm concerned, you can hand him the Oscar. It is superbly written, acted and directed. Mansel's score is beautiful. Be open to this movie and receive it. There aren't enough superlatives to do justice to this film. I can't wait to see it again. Brilliant!

---

135 out of 215 people found the following comment useful :-
3 stories occurring at 3 different time periods that seem unrelated at first but tie together by the end of the film, 21 October 2006

Author: bigbluevanfoundationofam from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I got passes to see an advanced screening of this in Boston, and then got to meet Aronofsky after the screening and ask him about the film. I absolutely adored his earlier work (PI and Requiem for a Dream), but as he said at the beginning of the Screening "For those of you here to see requiem for a dream part II, go home, this is not it." That comment best gets you ready to see this movie. It takes place during 3 different time periods, simultaneously and actually pulls it off!!! It doesn't have as much of the Hip-Hop montage that Darren is known for in his other films, but while watching, you can still tell it is one of his films. Aronofsky has evolved as a Director and the Fountain is a shinning example of his evolution. It is BY FAR one of the best movies to come out of Hollywood in a VERY long time. It's hard to believe that it came together as well as it did after it was dropped by the studio a few years ago as being "an impossible movie to make" and it took Darren 7 months of coffee and late nights to finally rewrite and re-story board the entire film and convince the studio to give him another chance! Another interesting thing to note is that there is only 1 CGI used in the entire movie (which considering it's amazing visuals is very hard to believe). Instead, he hired a chemist so that he could film the Trippe backgrounds through a microscope (much like 2001 a space Odyssey)and give the film a more natural feel. Another cool fact is that Darren is tone mute, which means he can identify the difference between different musical notes but can't differentiate them when he tries to reproduce them (like singing or playing instruments). He said that he spent almost as much time on the script as he did working with the Kronos Quartet on the soundtrack and that the soundtrack was finished BEFORE any shooting for the film occurred. All in all I believe that The Fountain is a MUST SEE for ANY movie goer this year, as it's by far the best movie of the year. This is one of those films that stays with you a long time, even after the film has finished. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

---

39 out of 55 people found the following comment useful :-
Plot Summary misleading, 1 December 2006

Author: a_lester_t from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I have no idea why the plot summary says it's a story spanning one thousand years.

The Spanish story is just that... the story she wrote while she was dying of cancer. He was her warrior out on a quest to save her (or Spain.)

The tree bubble scene is his subconscious dealing with trying to save her, not wanting to give up on her. "Finish it" is what she asks of him... finish the story she started and finish the grieving /fighting. His subconscious doesn't want to let go. He keeps looking at the rings of his arm... like the rings of a tree - and all the years they have spent together. As he's tattooing himseslf with another ring she keeps saying FINISH IT.

Once he can let go both consciously and subconsciously he ends the story she started, and keeps her dying wish.

There was no past / or future to it. There was a story she wrote... the present tense of him trying to save her then planting the seed of the tree for her... and his subconscious fighting though all of it.

---

---

Page 1 of 43:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Plot synopsis	Ratings
Awards	Newsgroup reviews	External reviews
Parents Guide	Official site	Plot keywords
Main details	Your user comments	Your vote history