The Fountain

[ManicQueen]

This is one the most fucked up movies I've seen so far.

Three different scene's going on and I'm just barely following it.

Have YOU seen it?

Tell me what the f*%* just happened!

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Well the cancer storyline is the "flashback". The conquistador thing is a plot-line from a book the egomaniac main characters wife wants him to finish writing. The astronaut part is the "current" storyline. If your goal is to "figure it all out" you'll just be pissed off. Its an artsy film not necessarily meant to be 100% digested.

Defiantly not a popcorn movie. Similar to Mulholland Drive , your not supposed to "figure it all out" its not a murder mystery. Its a surrealistic thing. Which will piss your average movie goer right off.

I thought it was good but not great. (also i was in a bad mood when i say it so i might have to give it a second try) Being a massive snobby art-film buff I've seen a lot of this sort of stuff so its not quite the "revelation of film making" it could have been had i seen it sooner in my movie fanatic-life. Hes definitely not David Cronenberg. The photography is great, but thats not such a big deal anymore, most all your decent directors these days have mastered the visual aspects of filmmaking. Its the storyline part that takes the rare-gem directors to get down correctly.

*SPOILER alert*

Here is the Wiki Plot Breakdown:

The scientist

Research oncologist Tommy Creo (Hugh Jackman) attempts to reverse brain tumors in rhesus monkeys through animal testing. His work is motivated by his cancer-stricken wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz). When the tests fail on a monkey named Donovan, Tommy is inspired to break medical protocol and use an untested compound derived from a Guatemalan tree. At first, the drug fails to stop the tumor's growth, but surprisingly rejuvenates Donovan's wounds and cognitive abilities.

Izzi (Rachel Weisz) and Tommy (Hugh Jackman) outside their home

Izzi (Rachel Weisz) and Tommy (Hugh Jackman) outside their home

At home, Izzi points out a golden nebula to Tommy, describing it as Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. She also shows Tommy a book she is writing, set in the age of conquistadors, entitled The Fountain. When she goes to sleep, Tommy reads the book and falls asleep as well. When he wakes up, he finds that Izzi has gone to the museum. He meets her there, and she explains the creation story of the Mayans. She suddenly collapses from a seizure and is rushed to the hospital. She tells Tommy, at her bedside, that she no longer fears death. Tommy does not accept this and returns to his lab, working harder to find a cure for Izzi's brain tumor.

During a visit, Izzi goes into cardiac arrest, and Tommy is forced to leave the room. Tommy's associate Dr. Lillian Guzetti (Ellen Burstyn) finds him in the hall and tells him that Donovan's tumor was being cured. Tommy rushes back into Izzi's room with the news, only to find that his wife could not be resuscitated. At Izzi's funeral, Tommy tells Guzetti, "Death is a disease, like any other. And there is a cure. And I will find it."

The conquistador

In 16th century Spain, Grand Inquisitor Silecio (Stephen McHattie) demonizes the Spanish queen Queen Isabella (Weisz) as a heretic. He slowly acquires territories to take Spain back from the queen, killing her followers along the way. Tomas (Jackman), a conquistador in the service of Isabella, plots to assassinate Silecio, but he is stopped by Captain Ariel bearing an urgent message from the Queen. Returning to Isabella's court, Tomas is given the mission of finding the Tree of Life. The tree's location is revealed on a hidden map displayed by a Maya dagger stolen by Father Avila (Mark Margolis), whose Franciscan order backs the Queen.

Tomas journeys to the New World with Avila and fellow conquistadors to find the tree's location. The men commit mutiny when the location cannot be found and living conditions worsen for them, but Tomas restores order by killing the main dissenters. The path to the location, a Maya pyramid, is found, and Tomas approaches the pyramid with his two men. Maya warriors attack the conquistadors, and Tomas's men are killed in battle. Tomas's life is spared by the warriors, who force him to climb the pyramid. When Tomas reaches the temple at the top, he is stabbed in the abdomen by a Maya priest.

The astronaut

The astronaut Tom (Jackman) travels toward a golden nebula in an ecospheric spacecraft, which also houses a living tree. Tom meditates and practices tai chi, but he is haunted by visions of Izzi. He focuses on reaching the nebula and tells the tree that it will be reborn. Despite his assurance, the tree dies. Izzi haunts Tom in a vision and encourages him to finish writing her book, The Fountain. Tom faces his fear of death and accepts dying, enabling him to conceive the book's ending for his wife.

Resolution

Instead of being killed by the Maya priest, Tomas is recognized by him as the deity First Father. The priest presents himself as a sacrifice, and Tomas slits his throat. The conquistador finds the Tree of Life and extracts sap to apply to his abdominal wound. Seeing the wound heal, Tomas drinks the sap, only to collapse and have leaves and flowers bursting from his body, burying him beside the tree. The future Tom finally passes into the heart of the nebula and enters Xibalba at peace with his imminent death as the star explodes and the tree blooms once more. The present day Tommy is seen planting a tree seed over Izzi's grave.

[Nienna]

I loved it... but I'm a fan of that director's disjointed style...

Short story is she's dying, he feels helpless and the story she's writing and that is the more surreal aspect of it is their intertwined mental states. Good stuff. The film was beautiful artistically too!

[ManicQueen]

I loved it too.. just gonna have to watch it a few more times.

[phee]

PRetty amazing and depressing film

[mallochai]

It was amazing, it was depressing, it was all kinds of great things...

But, I think that the "future/buddhist/astronaut" guy was... well.... completely fucking unnecessary to the plot. I think that particular character was a nice addition in regards to the artistic value of the film, but the scenes only detracted from any sense of story.

I loved it, I hated it, I wanted to strangle someone. It was great. I think.

[Homicidalheathen]

I hope I can make it through it. Will prob make me nod off. Sometimes it takes 5 tries before I see a whole movie

[holliwood66]

I absolutely loved this film, however I was upset for a few weeks afterwards (my own death/life/control/acceptance issues).