Review of The Fountain (2006) by Sg. — 24 Nov 2006

Incoherent? Head scratching? Pretentious? Hard to follow? Did I watch the same movie as many of these critics? I don't want to take any unnecessary or pointless swipes at intelligence, but I cannot help but wonder what was so confusing about this movie.

To me, this was simple story. A movie about the most basic human experiences (love and death), and as such is naturally expansive due to the timelessness of these themes. It echoes the feel of the folklore it is based on.

There is nothing pretentious or confusing about that. Perhaps the narrative was unclear at first, but it does not take long to determine what the significance of each narrative strand is. While I do argue that the 16th century narrative was the essential flaw of the movie, I will let others feel out their own opinions there.

This movie should just be felt and experienced. It is our humanity that makes it easy to identify with the moment we stop trying to make it something it isn't. It is not puzzling, confusing or pretentious and in my opinion not even mind blowing.

A visual feast and a simple myth with a sci-fi edge. Abandon the critical analysis and let your gut feel this one out.