The Fountain
Dec. 9th, 2006 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spacebugS4 and I went to see The Fountain last night.
I've read a lot of split reviews on it, now, but I thought it was really really beautiful.
It was difficult to watch just because it was so emotional. This movie made me cry. The main storyline (though there are sort of three interwoven) revolves around a young woman dying of a brain tumor, and that just hit a little close to home this year... Scott and I were just remembering on Thursday that the last time we saw Rachel up and talking and doing well was at t's birthday dinner last year, which had happened again this year just a few hours before we saw this movie. Ah, coincidences... I had no idea that was what it was about.
Hugh Jackman stars in it, and between this and The Prestige, he's securing a spot next to Gary Oldman as one of my favorite male actors. His character(s) is desperate and occassionally a complete asshole, but remains sympathetic; all of his desperation is convincingly born out of fear and love. I'm generally not a big fan of love scenes; I tend to find them awkward. The few in this film were equal parts enchanting and heartbreaking.
I think this film has been criticized because what it is doesn't really match what the advertising for it has been... I barely remember any of the trailers I'd seen for it, if I saw one at all, though I remember seeing or reading a brief somethingorother about how the effects were done. So, I saw this without any expectations and I believe that was in my favor. It's much more a love story than a science fiction film (it's not a sci-fi film at all, to me), but it isn't exactly a love story, either. It's arty and pretty and makes one think a lot about mortality and spirituality. It reminded me nothing of Pi or Requiem for a Dream. I was also amazed to see Clint Mansell's name on it, too- I only knew him from Pi's electronic score, of which I'm a big fan. The score for this film is excellent, and not a thing like the score for Pi. Being so impressed with these two really different scores made me want to find out about anything else he's done. Turns out he was the lead singer, keyboard player, and guitarist for Pop Will Eat Itself and sang vocals on NIN's the fragile, and there's bunch of other cool shit on his pedigree. Damn. This only adds fuel to my unified synthpop/film-score-composers-I-adore pattern. Danny Elfman, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Mothersbaugh, Clint Mansell. A-yup.
I've read a lot of split reviews on it, now, but I thought it was really really beautiful.
It was difficult to watch just because it was so emotional. This movie made me cry. The main storyline (though there are sort of three interwoven) revolves around a young woman dying of a brain tumor, and that just hit a little close to home this year... Scott and I were just remembering on Thursday that the last time we saw Rachel up and talking and doing well was at t's birthday dinner last year, which had happened again this year just a few hours before we saw this movie. Ah, coincidences... I had no idea that was what it was about.
Hugh Jackman stars in it, and between this and The Prestige, he's securing a spot next to Gary Oldman as one of my favorite male actors. His character(s) is desperate and occassionally a complete asshole, but remains sympathetic; all of his desperation is convincingly born out of fear and love. I'm generally not a big fan of love scenes; I tend to find them awkward. The few in this film were equal parts enchanting and heartbreaking.
I think this film has been criticized because what it is doesn't really match what the advertising for it has been... I barely remember any of the trailers I'd seen for it, if I saw one at all, though I remember seeing or reading a brief somethingorother about how the effects were done. So, I saw this without any expectations and I believe that was in my favor. It's much more a love story than a science fiction film (it's not a sci-fi film at all, to me), but it isn't exactly a love story, either. It's arty and pretty and makes one think a lot about mortality and spirituality. It reminded me nothing of Pi or Requiem for a Dream. I was also amazed to see Clint Mansell's name on it, too- I only knew him from Pi's electronic score, of which I'm a big fan. The score for this film is excellent, and not a thing like the score for Pi. Being so impressed with these two really different scores made me want to find out about anything else he's done. Turns out he was the lead singer, keyboard player, and guitarist for Pop Will Eat Itself and sang vocals on NIN's the fragile, and there's bunch of other cool shit on his pedigree. Damn. This only adds fuel to my unified synthpop/film-score-composers-I-adore pattern. Danny Elfman, Angelo Badalamenti, Mark Mothersbaugh, Clint Mansell. A-yup.
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no subject
Date: 2006-12-09 09:46 pm (UTC)I don't know how to categorize it, either.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-09 10:14 pm (UTC)Anyway, the movie really leaves itself open to interpretation. You could interpret it in a hopeful way, like the spirit of life is eternal and all that. Or, you could see the film as Hugh Jackman's futile attempt to defeat death throughout the ages, because we are all condemed to see our loved ones die over and over. But then he does decide to take a walk in the snow at the end, so that's hopeful I suppose.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-09 11:42 pm (UTC)