THE FOUNTAIN

Response Paper to the Film “the Fountain”

Response Paper to the Film “THE FOUNTAIN”

Mythological Motifs

Rachel Weisz has the burden of playing a muse to our Creo, and she brings light and vivacity and what precious little humour there is in this Fountain. Creo's mantra -- "Death is a disease. There is a cure. And I will find it." -- is solemn but threatens to kill the fun. Izzi, in her character's optimism, her eagerness to see the mythological dimensions of her experience, and her determination to make something meaningful and joyous out of it, is the balance. So good are these moments that it comes as a shock later to realize just how many of her scenes have a subtext of bereavement. Weisz doesn't quite look like she's dying of anything serious, but she's rarely looked lovelier than she does here, no doubt one of the benefits of having your boyfriend as the film's director.

Mythological Traditions

"The Fountain" at a second-run movie theatre. I knew nothing about the movie, except that it was supposed to be fairly "trippy." Of course, if you've seen the film, you probably know that the term "trippy" doesn't even begin to describe layered, difficult piece of cinema. I remember leaving the theatre struggling to grasp what I had just seen, and yet strangely enjoying it (Sciretta 2007). Only now am I actually beginning to understand the film, thanks to a flurry of new articles written about it.

Mythological Symbols

The Fountain is a strange, singular experience, and it would help if the viewer had some understanding of myth and its place in mankind's history and religion. That isn't to say you need a master's degree to enjoy the film. I'm still talking about the movie with people who saw it opening weekend. It's highly ambitious and even a little pretentious, but for those of you who have been demanding something different out of movies today, here it is. Feel courageous, and push past the edge.

It all started with Nathin Rabin's blog on the Onion's AV Club. Rabin featured the movie in his "Year of Flops" blog series, which addresses movies that were commercial failures. Rabin got me thinking about the movie again with his review, which talked mainly about the film's production history and the imagery Aronofsky uses: It's a film suffused with vaginal and birth imagery, full of womb-like dark spaces and protective circles. It's a waking dream of a movie as painfully earnest and unashamedly romantic as a high school sophomore's love letters. As in his previous films, Aronofsky completely eschews protective irony: as far I could tell, there isn't a single joke in the entire film. There's something incredibly refreshing about the film's heroic earnestness. Aronofsky is a true romantic in an age ruled by cynicism and doubt.

Filmmakers Interweave These Three Stories

Can a typical audience member be expected to do the heavy parsing that would figure all this out? I doubt it. Most movies, you like to have them all parsed before you buy the ...