The Fountain

People ask me why I do a blog and I’ve never had a good answer…until now. If I can save even one person from going to see THE FOUNTAIN then I’ve provided a real public service. Yes, I know I’m going to take a lot of heat in the comments section but I don't care. Some things are too important and warning the population is something I just feel morally bound to do.

As I watched this quest for eternal life I wanted to kill myself.

For you Los Angeles readers, my wife said it was a 90 minute KCRW ad. In other words, artsy-fartsy, overblown, dialogue as bad and stilted as STAR WARS: EPISODE I and GLEN OR GLENDA, and making no sense whatsoever. An utter mish-mash. A complete disaster. It achieved the near impossible, it made Rachel Weisz look bad. And the writer-director, Darren Aronofsky, is her husband! She should sue for spousal abuse.

At least SHOWGIRLS had nudity. And stupifying lines like: "it must be weird, not having anybody cum on you."

Aronofsky is the Emperor’s New Genius. It’s one thing when he makes five-million dollar bizarre little art films. So what if nobody knows what the hell is going on? Everybody’s stoned. It’s the midnight show at the local revival theater, part of a double bill with PINK FLAMINGO. But a $53 million studio holiday release? What was anybody thinking? Forget that THE FOUNTAIN is not remotely commercial. Even the art crowd thinks it’s a turd. It was rejected by Cannes, the New York Film Festival, and when it showed at the Venice Film Festival it received loud angry boos – and these people think every Woody Allen movie is a masterpiece.

When directors start thinking of themselves not as storytellers but “artists” you can almost bet another FOUNTAIN will be hatched. When they want to become the next Kubrick give them a wide berth. If you hear the words “metaphysical journey”, “exploring unanswerable questions”, and “Mayan mythology” RUN!

I saw it at a screening where Aronofsky participated in a Q&A afterwards. He was asked what the theme of the movie was, and he said, “he didn’t know.” HE DIDN’T KNOW???? $53 million dollars and he didn’t know? He said he was still discovering it and that’s the cool part.

Knowing your theme is the first thing they teach you in the Beginning Screenwriting Course at the Learning Annex… for only $53 dollars.

Admirers will say if you want to be challenged by a movie see THE FOUNTAIN. I say see THE FOUNTAINHEAD.

Let the debate begin!

Comments

[Keath]

Saw the film and i loved it. Sorry you could not understand it. Stay with cartoons instead.

[Slubgob]

Saw the film and i loved it. Sorry you could not understand it. Stay with cartoons instead.Hey, a Studio 60 fan!

[Ken Levine]

Keath,Maybe I'm not deep, maybe I do have pedestrian tastes. And maybe people far smarter than I will love this movie. I'm glad for them. I wanted to like it. I just didn't... or couldn't. But you're right, I should have seen HAPPY FEET instead.

[Whaledawg]

As I watched this quest for eternal life I wanted to kill yourself.You might want to rephrase that Ken ;)

[Caroline]

Hey! I am a Studio 60 fan but absolutely not a Darren Aronofsky fan. Hate to say it, but his oppressive self importance has poisoned every movie of his I've seen. Actually, I don't hate to say it. That's a lie. He represents everything I hate about auteur filmmaking right now. At least Sorkin is funny.I was going to try this one and give him another shot -- thanks for saving me from myself, Ken."As I watched this quest for eternal life I wanted to kill yourself." Classic, and I am sure wholly accurate.

[Ken Levine]

Thanks, Whaledawg,Good catch. See, I am dumb. :)

[Jess]

(I just didn't... or couldn't. But you're right, I should have seen HAPPY FEET instead.)Its right up your alley.

[Ken Levine]

I actually hear HAPPY FEET is good. I probably will see it at some point.

[Dan Coyle]

I haven't seen the movie, but there's one thing I do know: there are women worth traveling a thousand years for, but Rachel Weisz doing an American accent is surely not one of them.

[Anonymous]

Mmm, I actually read all The Fountainhead in it's entirety. It took a lot of chocolate and Jossverse episodes to bring me from the brink of suicide.-Abbey

[Dan Coyle]

The Fountainhead is a... unique experience. For one thing, it taught me that superhero comics aren't the only place where date rape is seen as something that builds character.

[Steve]

Rachel Weisz's American accent is a hell of a lot better than Kate Winslet's, that's for damn sure.BTW, I can't wait for The Fountain.

[Anonymous]

I saw the movie last week in New York and i enjoyed it. You have to enjoy good films to like it.

[Phill]

"Rachel Weisz's American accent is a hell of a lot better than Kate Winslet's, that's for damn sure."I find Rachel's American accent very sexy, those who don't are gay.

[Anonymous]

This film mistakes opacity for depth at every turn. If Keath wants to claim he understands he, he's welcome to explain it.It's an intellectual exercise, not a story. There are, perhaps, some very moving moments buried in the stories - but they're so deeply buried that Aronofsky and his actors can't find them.A real disappointment. Cool visuals, though. Maybe I should drop a tab and see it again.

[Scott]

I saw the film in Canada during the Toronto film festival and i loved it. Can't wait to see it again.

[1031]

Your review backfired, Ken. Now, because of all this debate, I have to see the movie in order to decide which side I fall on.I hear Happy Feet is great. It bested the (greatest) Bond film (ever) at the box office, which was a bit of a surprise. Might have to take the nieces and nephews to see it next weekend.

[nadia*]

I caught The Fountain at the Toronto Film Festival, and have since been attempting to provide the same public service to anyone who will listen. The collective sigh from the audience at the end of "wow, I can't believe I just paid $20 for this" was audible.

[deanareeno]

Here's my synopsis of the film, so if you're reading this blog and don't want to be spoiled, don't read this post. I had read very little about the film before I saw it, as I wanted to experience it fresh. So from one viewing, my take:Tommy & Izzie are married and in love. Izzy has an inoperable brain tumor that's growing and killing her. Tommy's a medical researcher. He's doing research to try and save her life, she has come to accept she will die. Before passing, she leaves him a book she has written which has no ending and asks him to finish writing it.Izzie's book takes place in the 16th Century. Tommy's conclusion to the book takes place far into the future.Not really that complicated.The film jumps between the 'here & now' medical drama, Izzie's book and Tommy's final chapter, which some will consider "artsy-fartsy". Me? I dug it. (Next on the agenda, Cliff Notes on The Prestige)Ken, have you seen Caché? I'm curious to read what you think of it....and just so you don't think every movie I saw at the TIFF was a big stinker, I also liked Pan's Labyrinth & Severance.

[Tom Dougherty]

Requiem for a Dream: an after school special for adults. It turns out drugs are bad for you- who knew? Pi- more fun than Hebrew Mathematics, but only just. People who Loooooved it when it came out?- how many of them could tell you they remembered what it was about, or have ever watched it again? I am in no way looking forward to what looks to be a POS. Thanks for the heads-up, Mr. L. You didn't save my life, but you saved 3 hours of it, and that's a start.

[Anonymous]

I love it when people mistake incomprehensible for smart. It's "I (heart) Huckabees" all over again. Let me just say this once: if you don't understand a freakin' thing happening on screen and the WRITER can't tell you what the movie was about, that doesn't make it smart. That makes it B-A-D.Just like atemporal storytelling doesn't make it innovative and slow-moving doesn't make it emotionally effective. I saw "The Fountain" a month ago. Incomprehensible, atemporal and slow-moving -- the holy trinity of pretentious bad filmmaking.As the great George Carlin says: Crap's crap, and that's that.

[New Dad Layne]

This reminds me of something the late Gene Siskel did years ago. He disliked a film so much he told the ending of the film in his review to discourage people from wanting to see the movie. He caught a lot of heat for this. Hell, anymore, all you have to say is "boy gets girl" and you spoil the ending of half the films coming out of Hollywood. I'm curious Ken, first, if you remember this, and second, if you condone what Gene Siskel did?

[Ken Levine]

new dad layne,I don't remember Siskel doing that but I don't condone it. And you'll notice I didn't give away any story turns in my review. I can suggest people don't see a film but if do want to see it they deserve the opportunity to enjoy it. Anytime I post anything that might give something away I always include a SPOILER ALERT, as did one of the commenters above.

[Mike]

Kramer didn't like The Fountain either.Racist.

[The Master]

Now let me get this straight in my mind: The Venice Film Festival, the same people who gave their Best Actor Award to Ben Affleck for HOLLYWOODLAND, booed and catcalled THE FOUNTAIN? Yow! How bad do you have to be to make people who think Ben Affleck is the Best actor hate you?BTW Ken, I missed SHOWGIRLS - deliberately - and intend to continue missing it at least until I die, so thanks for that GREAT quote from it. I may have that embroidered on all my coats.Meanwhile, if you want to see something that is actually good, catch FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. You don't have to drop acid to understand it, there are no dancing penguins, nobody's testicles get graphically clobberred as in a certain highly-praised recent spy movie (In defense of the ball-clobberring, it does come directly out of Ian Fleming's novel), Catherine O'Hara is in it, and after you've seen it, you'll be happy and cheerful, remembering that there ARE people who still make smart, funny entertainments for grown-ups with taste.