The Fountain

[JG]

this deserves another viewing.  they never dimmed the lights when the show began, and i sat next to idiot douche bags who laughed the entire time.  THE ENTIRE TIME.   

but it was really good.  i don't know how good yet. 

did this start without any trailers for anyone else? 

[Ghostboy]

I wrote a semi-review and then went to see it again tonight. Oddly, I didn't like it any more or less than I did the first time. I love thinking about the film more than I actually liked the film itself. I also bought the score, and I love listening to that while thinking about it. But the movie itself? It's an odd bird.

[MacGuffin]

DEVIN'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: DARREN ARONOFSKY (THE FOUNTAIN)
Source: CHUD

The first two questions in this one on one interview come from... a round table. I know, I know. The two things are completely the opposite. But here's what happened: I flew to LA two weekends ago for the junket for The Fountain, and I was guaranteed a one on one with Darren Aronofsky. He's quite fond of the site, and has said some incredibly complimentary things about my reaction to his film, so I assumed this was a no-brainer. Turns out that something got crossed and I was not scheduled for a one on one after all. Bummed, I went to the round table anyway and tried to ask some of the questions I had been planning to ask in the one on one. At the end of the table interview (if you want to listen to the whole table interview, Collider.com has the audio), Aronofsky turned to me and said, 'I'll be talking to you again later, right?' and I had to tell him that we actually weren't scheduled.

Much to his enormous credit, Aronofsky made time for me during his incredibly busy junket day to do an unscheduled one on one interview. I wish I had more time – hell, I wish I could sit with him and go frame by frame through the movie. But I like what I ended up with, and combined with Russ' exclusive with him [previous page] - Russ' questions tended to the film oriented – I wanted to know more about the themes and concepts of the movie - I think CHUD has the best Aronofsky interview on the web.

Every element of every storyline, every timeline, is in every other timeline.  It's a very fractal picture.  Everything is related.  How did you build that in?  Did that come in the script stage?  Did you find those connections on set? Were they created in the editing room?

It's all pre-planned.  With the budget that we had, which was extremely low, and the limited amount of time, which was extremely short, to do something like this, it was all about homework.  So, all those connections were made beforehand.  Of course, things came up where we realized, "Hey, we could stick that here."  Things happened on set, but I'd say 95% of all decisions are beforehand.  Because when you get to set, no matter how much two-dimensional work you do -- meaning storyboards, shot lists, script work -- as soon as you get into a three-dimensional space with real live actors and real physical equipment, nothing ever works out, so you have to be able to adapt. 

But, having done all that homework allows you to know what you absolutely need, so you can get pretty close to getting everything you want.  But all the woosh shots, the horse going by, the car going by, and the ship going by, that was all pre-planned.  All the star fields that are going on throughout the film -- in space, of course, and then the candles all hanging down, once you throw them out of focus, they're a star field, the Christmas lights behind Rachel on the rooftop are star fields.  From working with with darkness and light in the same way, where Hugh's character is in the black and Rachel's character is in the light.  Hugh's never really fully lit until the end of the film, and Rachel's lit all the time.  That was always planned, 10 months before we ever got to set.

You said that your next film was going to be something Biblical, your first film was about God and math, and this film is spiritual, in an agnostic way.  What's your take on God?  Are you religious?  Do you believe in God?

I think the themes of The Fountain, about this endless cycle of energy and matter, tracing back to the Big Bang . . . The Big Bang happened, and all this star matter turned into stars, and stars turned into planets, and planets turned into life.  We're all just borrowing this matter and energy for a little bit, while we're here, until it goes back into everything else, and that connects us all.  The cynics out there laugh at this crap, but it's true. The messed up thing is how distracted we are and disconnected from that connection, and the result of it is what we're doing to this planet and to ourselves.  We're just completely killing each other and killing the planet, and it's a state of emergency right now, I think.  All of my charity work has always been about the environment.  There are 15,000 species on the endangered species list.  Mercury poisoning is my new thing. We're doing it to ourselves.  The fact that there's mercury poisoning in the breast milk of indigenous people in the North Arctic is all coming from us, and Alzheimer's is on the rise.  What are we doing to ourselves?  It's a complete disconnect.  To me, that's where the spirituality is.  Whatever you want to call that connection - some people would use that term God.  That, to me, is what I think is holy.

What's unique about this film is that we don't make movies in the Western world about accepting death. Death is something to be fought in movies and only given in to in the most heroic circumstances. In this film it's part of the cycle of life – that's a very Eastern thing. How did you come to this?

You know what? You're the first person in the West to ask that question. I got asked that question all the time in Japan. In Japan every interview was, 'How did you get this Eastern thing?' I don't know, to tell you the truth. It's a little embarrassing to say, but back in the 70s as a kid I did a lot of karate, and I kept with it. I kept with it and I was into martial arts all the way through college. I'm still into it. I think that opened me up to writings on Zen and Buddhism. It's a combination of a lot of ideas in there, but that's what tilted me towards an Eastern POV.

Do you think that some of the negative reactions the film has gotten have come from people not being willing to look at death as a graceful, profound thing, or has it come from the film being very earnest?

I think it's a few things. I think that if you're not a fan of science fiction, then that first 20 minutes of the film might lose you. People cross their arms and they never reconnect. Because there's a lot of big themes going on... it is very earnest, and we took it very seriously. I was surprised by the cynical reactions, and it was very clear. People have said, 'Hey, it's the age of cynicism, how can you do something like this?' I say it's not the age of cynicism. That was the 90s. When things were dandy. When David Letterman was king of the world. Now, in a post-9/11 world personally I feel like it's OK to talk about things. The war is between are we going to end up in the age of superficiality with big, huge statues of Paris Hilton or are we going to say, 'Hey what's going on right now?'

I was actually stunned by that. But I continue to make films that are heartfelt because that's just what comes out.

What do you think the public reception is going to be?

I've got no idea. We'll see.

How much does it matter to you, how much the movie makes at the box office?

That's not why you make a film. It's funny – this whole 200 million dollar box office and the fascination with box office is, I think, one of the worst things for movies. Pi is, I think the 16th most profitable on the return film in the history of filmmaking. It cost a few thousand dollars and it made a few million dollars. That's good business. I really am interested in getting the money back for my investors. That's my main goal.

But making blockbusters is a dangerous thing because you boil it down to the vanilla factor. I call it the vanilla factor: if you ask a room full of 25 people to decide what their favorite ice cream flavor is, they'll probably get to vanilla. That's the problem with a lot of these films that are trying to connect with every single quadrant. Most of the time they get boiled down to something very simple. But then again there's a film like Borat, which is really radical. And it's a hit. You never know. Those are the films I'm interested in.

Where did Mogwai come in?

I always wanted a psychedelic rock element because there's a psychedelic tradition here. It needed the rock and roll element. Clint [Mansell] knew Mogwai as a band and was a fan. The Kronos Quarter was always there and we got excited about the juxtaposition of those two things.

What do you listen to these days?

It's been a little bit of a slow year. I got into Gnarls Barkley before everyone on the planet got into them. I was an early fan! I can't wait for the new Arcade Fire album. I've been listening to a lot of Johnny Cash as always. But it's been a dry year as far as inspiration from the music world. But I like the new Rick Rubin release of Johnny Cash stuff.

What can we expect on the DVD for this film? I was watching the movie last night and I couldn't decide if I wanted a commentary that would give away every bit of symbolism and meaning or not.

There is no commentary. Warner Bros was not interested in it, so I did not push it. My whole thing is that I realized... Criterion was interested in Pi and Requiem, but because I put everything out on [the original DVDs], they didn't really find a reason to do them. So when Warner Bros said they weren't interested, I said, hey I'll keep this in my pocket and eventually... I enjoy it because I got so much out of commentaries from other films I learned a lot.

So you're telling me you want to do The Fountain as a Criterion DVD?

I'd love to.

[Pubrick]

goddamn darren, shut the hell up already.

some directors don't talk enuff, some talk way too much.

[gob]

Despite some seemingly brutal critical reaction so far I still really want to see it but I have to wait till the 16th of fucking February. The gap between US and UK release dates pisses me off sometimes everyday.

[modage]

http://movies.aol.com/celebrity-interview-unscripted/the-fountain-darren-aronofsky-rachel-weisz

[SiliasRuby]

Man, what a breath of fresh air this was, quite an emotional movie and I was blown away by the special effects. Definitely now in my top ten of 2006.

[The Perineum Falcon]

I've seen it twice now.
The first with all thoughts and criticisms hidden somewhere in the back of my mind in order to more easily make my own judgements.
The second, with those same thoughts refreshed, in order to find some validity (perhaps that's not the right word) in them.
The second viewing only cemented my first impression.
Yes, the script is, at times, clumsy and borders on corny, but it wasn't such a large detractor from the experience.
I didn't find the acting nor the characters of Tomas/Tommy and Isobel/Izzy particularly empty.
The film is beautiful. And for me, that's on every level.
The cinematography and soundtrack are breathtaking. The images are engrained in my skull and the music still plays in my mind. I thought it was moving, truth be told.
I remember questions and assumptions abounding of "will the Fountain be Aronofsky's 2001?" Well, as anyone who's seen it can tell you, it's nowhere near it and nothing like it.
I thought it was incredibly similar to 2046; they were only two numbers off. =)
They're similar in the ways they relay their heroes'/protagonists' emotions and personalities; through the litterature of its characters.
The metaphors, mirroring of storylines, etc. were all very easy for me to find on the first viewing, and that didn't ruin the second for me.
Maybe the film doesn't hold as many secrets as some would like, but it sits well with me and I think that each subsequent viewing will be as enjoyable, if not more so, as the first two.
It's not perfect - it can be awkward at times - but it was enough to satisfy this viewer.

[killafilm]

Loved it and can't stop thinking about it.  I can't imagine going into the theater without having seen a trailer.  Some of the images were just so iconic and I think lessened a bit by the trailers.  My roommate was cracking a joke a that IMDB reccomends Revenge of the Sith on The Fountains page.  But thinking about it both movies are about cheating death to some extent.  Loose thread I know.  But I think starting with Jung makes for a hard hitting human drama.  So I guess it's a common idea in movies (The Lion King, Final Fantasy) but I for one say Aronofsky has told sci-fi as none have before. 

[nix]

I think the most obvious criticism - the film being "muddled"- is pretty generic and short-sided. My fear was that we wouldn't have enough time to invest in the film's characters and Ideas at such a short running time, but to that end, I was satisfied. The cutting never felt forced or hiccupy. Honestly, I was one of the people who sat up a little when I heard aronofksy was mostly abandoning his "hip-hop montage" approach". His choice instead to go out of his way to achieve extremely smooth visual transitions was  effective and displayed his capacity to match style to subject matter. If I have a complaint, it's with some of the dialog and interaction, but even that stuff was pretty minimal. Yeah, it might go over the top on occasion, but so does Magnolia and I don't love it any less as a result. It's a tough note to hit, but if you do, it's fucking powerful.

And God, it looked so amazing. I haven't drank in visuals like that in quite some time. I agree with killafilm as far as the sci-fi element goes.Those scenes are completely unique, and fresh, and wonderfully engrossing. I was indeed moved. Partly because my girlfriend was sitting next to me sobbing from the halfway point on, but I  feel like the emotions displayed in the film rang true throughout.

I haven't disagreed with critics this vehemently since "Rules of Attraction".

[modage]

I haven't disagreed with critics this vehemently since "Rules of Attraction".

Roeper called The Fountain "one of the worst movies of the year". 

[Ghostboy]

Well, now that it's officially bombed and been savaged by critics, the long healing road to cult classic can begin.

[JG]

Yeah I don't think its possible for a movie like this not to be intially rejected by the critics.  Its pretty hard to pigeon-hole, despite the many attempts (especially by Aronofsky and Jackman) to compare it to 2001.   I don't care how "psychedelic" it is.   It exists in its own world, away from any near-sighted comparisons.  It has a very distinct rhythm and feel...which is why it deserves a second viewing before you can write if off, or praise it even.  I'm waiting until the ten day mark, because by that time I will be able to use my "free movie pass" ticket.

The more I let it sit in my mind the more I like it. 

[Gamblour.]

I saw this the first time on Friday night after work. The whole time, from the first few frames, I was thinking, These are the first frames of Aronofsky's new movie, this is the subject he's decided to do. I was so excited. By the end of it, beit because I'm not the quickest at figuring things out, I didn't really enjoy it. In fact, I called the visuals at the end of the film "embarassing" and "awkward", saying that Aronofsky found this strange line between beauty and embarassment and crossed it over and over.

Then I saw the film today and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It's beautiful and brilliant and I cried so much during it. The scenes in space are some of the most beautiful I think I've ever seen in a film. The film itself, in its editing, effects, construction, is the most innovative film I've seen in theaters ever. MINOR SPOILERS When Tom says "I'm gonna die" with the biggest of joyous smiles on his face, I burst into tears, it was such a powerful experience for me. I'm so glad I saw it a second time, it's definitely my favorite film this year.

I was struck by the movies resemblance to certain elements of Pi, which is interesting. The similarity between Max Cohen's void and his bald head and Jackman's place in his bubble were fun to think about. Requiem now seems like his big studio film compared the Fountain, in terms of subject matter. His Departed to his Kundun, if you will.

On another note, I saw Casino Royale after this. Most movies just pail drastically in comparison after something like The Fountain, but Casino Royale was terrible in any case.

[Ghostboy]

Despite my mixed love of the film, I've become rather obsessed with it. I bought the soundtrack and the graphic novel, and I've pre-ordered that hardcover album (I'll report on its contents when it arrives this week). It really does stick in your head, if you're open to it, and I think it exists there far better than it does on the screen. I'm almost afraid to watch it again (at least in whole) because I doubt it will compare to what keeps getting stronger and stronger in my memory.