The Fountain

The Fountain was directed by Darren Aronofsky and released in 2006. It is a complex movie, following three different storylines that are interwoven with one another. Throughout the course of the film, we learn the story of a conquistador in the 16th century who travels to the New World to find the Tree of Life, an oncologist in the present searching for a cure for his wife’s cancer, and an astronaut in the future traveling through space to return life to a dying tree. These stories unfold and intertwine as they move towards a singular goal: overcoming death. The film did not do well during its theatrical run (only earning about half of its budget). Despite this, The Fountain is an excellent film whose soundtrack, visual elements, and storyline come together to create a work of art that surpasses many other, more popular films.

The musical score for The Fountain was composed by Clint Mansell and performed by the Kronos Quartet and the musical performance group Mogwai. Mansell also composed the music for Aronofsky’s previous two films, Pi and Requiem for a Dream, and the Kronos Quartet performed the music for Requiem for a Dream as well. String instruments and electronic elements are the main components of much of the music, and there are no vocals (though the final song, “Together We Will Live Forever,” was intended to be a vocal piece). Because of this, the music tends to stay in the background, but there is a haunting quality to it that does not allow it to get lost behind everything else.

Of the soundtrack, in an article written about the movie, Steve Dollar says, “Rather than come together as an afterthought, which is the case with most films, the score arose as part of the process.” This allowed the music to express the proper mood of certain scenes in the film, and also allows for another level of experiencing the movie. Many of the songs are constructed around a common tune that ties them all together. The basic structure of “The Last Man,” the first song on the soundtrack, is carried through to the other pieces. Much like the story, this song flows through the others and helps to connect the seemingly detached segments of the story. All of the songs collectively build to the second-to-last song, “Death is the Road to Awe.” This song violently explodes at the film’s climax, enhancing and emphasizing the power of the on-screen visuals. Everything is finally drawn together with the final song, “Together We Will Live Forever.” It is relatively simple, compared to the other songs, in that it is performed solely by piano. Nevertheless, it is a powerful song that has a calming effect after the excitement of the final scenes. Overall, the soundtrack is well suited to the film and in some ways even helps to tell the story.

Like any other motion picture, The Fountain relies heavily on what the audience sees. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be much of a motion picture. All but two of the film’s locations were built on a sound stage in Montreal. Because the film takes place in three different time periods over a span of about a thousand years, it was important that each location properly reflected the period during which a particular scene was set to take place.

The 16th century segments of the film take place in two major locations: Spain and the New World (presumably present-day Mexico, because of numerous references to the Mayans). These locations contrast with those of the present-day segments; while the 16th century has a sort of wild and gritty feel, the locations in the present day feel smooth and clean. Much of the present takes place in the oncologist’s lab. The lab is filled with numerous technological devices which, despite the use of warm lighting, give it a feeling of coldness and sterility.

Both the 16th century and the present day make use of locations that feel enclosed and crowded; these are a stunning contrast to the location of the scenes that take place in the 26th century: outer space. The astronaut’s spacecraft is a large, clear sphere; inside of it is a large tree. This ship is traveling through space to reach a distant nebula so the tree can be reborn; the astronaut himself is the last man alive. The film is probably best known for its outer space scenes; however, filming them proved to be a challenge.

Because of the limited budget, Jeremy Dawson and Dan Schrecker, who helped Aronofsky with the visual effects, were unable to use a lot of computer-generated images; as about a third of the film takes place in outer space, this would’ve been difficult to achieve without making the film look dated. Johan Weiland interviewed Jeremy Dawson for his Comic Reel interview.

Darren's fear, and one we agreed with, is that with a lot of CG stuff it places the film at a certain moment in time and makes it very current, but the tools evolve and are changing from day to day, so there's a big difference in the way CG things can look from one year to three years later and he wants this film to stand in its own alley way separate from this. (Weiland)


To combat this, they enlisted the help of Peter Parks, a macro photographer (macro photography involves taking close-up pictures). He was able to create the stunning deep space effects by mixing different combinations of chemicals and microorganisms. In using this process, Dawson said, “We saw beautifully vibrant and active reactions that look remarkably like deep space photography we've seen from NASA [...] it's mostly a random and organic process filled with lots of wonderful accident and no software tricks” (Weiland). As a result, 20,000 feet of film for the special effects was filmed for a relatively low cost of around $140,000.

The space scenes are amazing, but the rest of the film looks gorgeous as well. Gold is used throughout the film to emphasize the search that the characters go through (much as the conquistadors of the 1500s sought gold, among other things, in the New World). All of the sets and scenes form an esthetically pleasing atmosphere that holds the interest of the viewer. In an interview conducted by Steve “Capone” Prokopy, Darren Aronofsky said, “One thing is there’s this whole geometrical thing going through the film.” Each of the three time periods is differentiated by shapes: the 16th century by triangles (used in the pyramids of the New World and constellations), the present day by rectangular forms (doors, windows, and computer screens), and the 26th century by circles and spheres (the spacecraft and stars) (Prokopy).

These elements alone cannot create a good motion picture; without a good story, it would just be a glorified slideshow. The Fountain, however, tells an interesting and complex tale. As was stated earlier, the film follows three people throughout time as they all search to overcome death in order to be with the women they love.

The conquistador, Tomas, is given the mission of seeking out the Tree of Life in the New World while his queen and the territory she holds in Spain are threatened by the Spanish Inquisition. In the present day, the oncologist, Tommy Creo, is researching methods to reverse the growth of brain tumors in monkeys with the hopes of finding a cure for the cancer that threatens his wife, Izzi. The astronaut, Tom, is riding a spherical spaceship towards a distant nebula in the hopes of rejuvenating a tree; during the journey, he is often haunted by hallucinations of Izzi. Each of these storylines are told simultaneously onscreen, and they are all expertly interwoven as they evolve along with one another and come together at the climax. The ending is a surprising one that will hopefully leave viewers with a powerful message about themselves and the world around them.

Along with the theme of overcoming death, the film makes heavy use of numerous spiritual and religious themes and symbols. These include the use of the Mayans’ story of the creation of the world, the Tree of Life from the Bible, Yggdrasil (the World Tree of Norse mythology that stands at the center of the universe), and the Hindu concept of the cycle of life and death. These concepts and symbols are utilized in an interesting and unique way while still being easy to understand to viewers who are not familiar with them. With the extensive use of these themes and symbols, it is difficult to formulate an all-encompassing interpretation of the film. However, in an interview with the Washington Post, Aronofsky stated, “It's very much like a Rubik's cube, where you can solve it in several different ways, but ultimately there's only one solution at the end" (Kolakowski).

In conclusion, there are numerous elements that combine to make The Fountain an immensely enjoyable motion picture. Not many people had a chance to see it during the theatrical run, but it is available on DVD in various formats to be enjoyed in the privacy of one’s home. The movie’s soundtrack, visual elements, and storyline are all expertly crafted, and the result is a film whose theatrical success (or lack thereof) poorly reflects the effort that was put forth to produce an amazing, awe-inspiring motion picture.