The Fountain (2006)

          Essential plot rundown:  Tommy tries to save his wife from death.  I just finished watching this.  And the only thing I can say is:  Wow.  This was a really interesting film.  I'm not sure that I know what this film was about.  I feel like there is some deeper meaning, but I just don't get it.

          Let's start off with the music.  I've been listening to the score for about a year now after accidentally stumbling upon it on the internets.  And I absolutely loved it.  It is beautiful, mesmerizing and powerful.  And that is the main reason why I eventually watched the movie.  I hadn't read any reviews or even seen the trailer.  Just the soundtrack.  And I found it a lot more engaging than the film itself.  While I like the movie, I would say I like the score even more.  The whole time I was watching the movie, I couldn't help but notice the score.  (But that might be because I've listened to it a thousand times).  Actually, that is an exercise I would recommend:  pick a film score you really like, listen to it a lot and then re-watch the movie.  It's kind of surprising how much more prominent the music is.  I've done it with The Fountain and Let The Right One In.

     HERE is the song used in the ending of the movie.  The climax happens around 7:30.  I was literally waiting the whole movie for that part and when it came, it gave me goosebumps.

          I could talk all day about how amazing the score is, but this is a movie review.  Like I said before, the story is intriguing.  I'm not really sure what happened; I imagine a lot is open to interpretation.  I have my own ideas on how the three parts are connected, but they are superficial and probably the most obvious.  But, there were a few parts that felt a little slow.  I was tempted to look and see how much time was left, but I refrained myself (for personal reasons).  Considering the topics treated (death and eternal life), I was expecting a more engaging film.

          Finally, I just want to comment on the future part (pictured above) of the movie.  It was very aesthetically pleasing to watch.  It just looked really cool to see the tree floating through space in a bubble.

          Overall, I really liked it.  It dragged a little bit and I didn't know what was happening, but the music and visuals made up for that.  If you are a deeper thinker than me (I just see what's right on the surface), I highly recommend it.  If you prefer a clean cut story, I wouldn't recommend it.  I would tell you to go listen to the score instead.

     But that's just my opinion...