The Fountain

Most of my blog posts will probably be movie reviews. I like to watch movies and it makes sense that I should write about them. My first will be about The Fountain. If you missed this 2006 film, I wouldn't be surprised; if you saw it and didn't like it, that wouldn't surprise me, either. I rather enjoyed it. It was slow-paced but I couldn't help but be intrigued by the juxtaposing storylines and gorgeous cinematography. The only two pertinent characters in the story were played by actors Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, both talented and easy to watch (except for Weisz' eyebrows...something really needs to be done about those). What most impressed me about the movie was its ability to embody so many different "genres" and still manage to make it all work. It was a science fiction, romantic love story, tragedy, period adventure, and Buddhist meditation piece all in one. If nothing else, the film was unique in its presentation of the universal themes of love and death, spirituality and faith. Understandably enough, some might find this film frustrating for its refusal to really spell anything out; a lot of the symbology is left for guesswork and imagination, and the Tommy and Izzy storyline seemed to decide to switch directions at the end. Never sappy but definitely sincere, The Fountain is not life-changing but it sure is a pretty, original, tender work of art. I give it a solid B.