Cinema is the road to awe

The critics are divided, people are screaming out words like "pretentious" and "too ambitious," and despite all of this, I think people missed the point of director Darren Aronofsky's third outing, "The Fountain." \nI am not one of these Aronofsky-philes; those who have seen "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" and continue to shout praises. I enjoyed "Pi" quite thoroughly, and while I recognize the importance of a film such as "Requiem," I cannot ignore the fact that I find much of it grotesque and desire to take a dozen showers after watching it. But in the realm of the aforementioned works, "The Fountain" is a film that completely stands alone with no resemblance to Aronofsky's previous exploits other than his usage of obsession. \nIt spans a millennium from 1500-2500 A.D., telling three stories of life and death through the eyes of Hugh Jackman as a Spanish conquistador in the deepest of Mayan jungles, a doctor on the verge of a revolutionary cure and an astronaut who has reached the cosmos we shall never even fathom discovering in our lifetime -- all of these in search of the Tree of Life which will save his one true love, all played by Rachel Weisz. \nThe performances by Jackman and Weisz are wonderfully humanistic. Jackman's performance as the modern day doctor is the most exceptional, as he is racing against the clock to find a cure for his wife's illness, creating a double-edged sword with what does he love more: His wife or his work? Yet, it is one that drives the other.\nI consider "The Fountain" to be one of the greatest accomplishments in recent cinematic history for the fact that it can be interpreted in numerous ways, that it contains some of the most profoundly beautiful imagery and symbolism, and the devout meditation it portrays of life and death, science and spirituality. The visuals are unlike anything I have ever witnessed on the screen, many of which I learned were created through photography of chemical reactions under a microscope, the end effect being brilliantly psychedelic/hypnotic. \nThe editing is so layered that it will demand your attention throughout its rather brief 96-minute run time -- you cannot take your mind off the film, but rather meditate along with it. The score composed by Clint Mansell and performed by the likes of the Kronos Quartet and Mogwai is beautiful in its range, covering melancholic passages, ataraxic interludes and vigorous crescendos. \nThe reason "The Fountain" is important above all else is because nothing of this caliber has been made recently. Yes one can find parallels with Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" or Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris" thematically, yet both were made in 1968 and 1972 respectively. In a time where so much film is wasted on formulaic nonsense, remakes and budget-busting flops like "Poseidon" that cost well over $160 million, here is Aronofsky with a modest $35 million, who takes his own original screenplay and creates a revelation on the screen, without a care as to turning a profit. \nWhile I cannot honestly and outright recommend "The Fountain" to people -- based on the clearly established love-it-or-hate-it dividing line -- I can say I consider myself lucky to have experienced it in a theater and commend anyone willing to spend their $8 on a film that will make you think rather than simply entertain.