The Fountain

I'm a fan of Requiem for a Dream and this is a pretty unconventional movie so I thought this was a good movie to start with. Darren Aronofsky is a director that actually seems to take advantage of his budget. Pi was fairly good but was held back at bit from its low budget. Requiem for a Dream had a better budget and was extremely well done with amazing visuals. He takes his flair for great visuals, takes a bigger though needed budget, and makes probably an even more artistic movie than Requiem when he easily could have gone more mainstream.

The fountain is a hard to fully understand movie but it definitely has emotional and mental impact. There is three different stories but exactly how they connect is a bit up to the viewer. The main story concerns a man trying to find a cure for cancer for his dying wife. To do so he tries to find a way to reverse tumor growth in monkeys. There is also a story in a book the wife has written about a conquistador and another with a futuristic Buddhist seeming astronaut. The movie tackles themes like life, death, and love in an intelligent way. The way the stories tie into each other may not make sense upon first watch but you can still definitely get a feel for the connection by the end of the movie. I did feel like I would have liked more of the main story and relationship with the scientist and his wife. Its not as emotionally involving and depressing as requiem but has you thinking and analyzing much more than that movie.

Highly recommended especially if you like movies that leave certain things up to the viewer to figure out on their own and like movies that aren't afraid to try something different. Probably not want to watch with those who only watch mainstream movies. This movie isn't for everyone yet those who enjoy challenging unique movies should like this.

If you like the movie also check out the graphic novel that came out before the movie based on the original script when it was to have a higher budget.