Review of The Fountain (2006) by Edward S — 26 May 2012

A fantastic looking film that is only innocently pretentious in its problematic musings on life and death, "The Fountain" tries to be a romance tragedy, a smorgasbord of one philosophical idea after another, and a glamorously metaphysical music video. It almost falls flat on trying to be all three, with one element getting in the way of another.

Though some of the choices in lighting, editing, and camera angles were questionable, my main complaint stems from the film's overuse of graphic designs, which almost turns gimmicky. The overwhelming cinematography and direction resulted in meta intertwining subplots which depended way too much on indulgent f/x and a quixotic soundtrack, thus creating the illusion of transcendent grandeur instead of actually making a point.

As we are bombarded with symbolism and peculiar dialogue that are supposed to synthesize into an intelligent message, I realize that the film may be using its aesthetic beauty to shove any missteps in its screenplay under the rug, giving us the feelings of grandeur as a distraction. I cannot condone this sort of manipulation, despite the story's genuine coherency (it's there, under the layers of f/x and other cinematic makeup obfuscating it) and the possession of a sincerely romantic, even beautiful, message. After viewers get over the kitsch, empty, and superficial beauties of the film, genuine conversation can be inspired from the screenplay. But, at the very least, the film can be hailed as a brave contemporary exercise in style.

On the lighter side, who's to say that, in time, the ambitiously intellectual and aesthetic elements of the film can't be simultaneously appreciated, similar to "2001"?