Current mood:	thoughtful
Current music:	Xibalba, from "The Fountain" OST
Entry tags:	ephiphanies, movies

Death is the road to awe:
On Saturday I went to see Darren Aronofski's "The Fountain" ("La Fuente de la vida" here in Spain).

I went in thrilled after a long time waiting to see it, and I came out emotionally exhausted and broken. "Exhausted" as in "making love for two hours leaves you exhausted" and "broken" as in "receiving a beating leaves you broken".



I had seen Aronofski's two previous films ("Pi", "Requiem for a Dream") and had madly fallen in love with them. My friend Esteban and I even used to joke with the idea that if Aronofski had directed "V for Vendetta" the film would have probably started a revolution. Yes, in my opinion, he's such a good director.

I went with high expectations to the movie, and, at least in my case, I was right. The film was amazing.

I'm not sure I can explain you why. I can't dissect it in a technical way. The pseudo historical bits had more fantasy in them that I had expected, but on the whole they were really cool. The acting was great (Hugh Jackman was specially good on this one), and the music was heart breaking. Everything was fantastic, but I'm not sure it was just that. The film just spoke to me.

It spoke to me about death, love, and all the things that have ever worried me. And by that I mean, the things that have ever REALLY worried me in my life.

I've always thought that death was terrible. I still do (in certain way). Death comes to us all, and empties us, it transforms us from mighty, wonderful beings filled with the endless magic of possibility to pale, inert things. That's it. Through death we become just things. Lifeless, static.
Devoid of anything.

On the other side of the equation, for me there's always been love. If mortality is the force that pushes us to the lowliest state of being: inert matter, love is its opposite. Love draws us to the highest, noblest state the human being can reach. Love is the ultimate spiritual alchemy, it refines us from lead to gold, from human to more than human.

I guess that love & death have always been my two life defining obsessions. "Eros & Thanathos" like the greeks would have said.

Well, "the Fountain" was a movie made by someone who had the very same obsessions. It was like speaking to a soul-mate. As my gorgeous companion put it: the film was like a mirror, depending on what was inside of you, you could see more or less things in it.

I think she's right. It's probably a difficult movie, but one from which you can extract very meaningful things if you stop to listen. Even if it's just for a second.

I really can't help but to recommend the journey.

"Pi" left me deeply disturbed, "Requiem for a Dream" left me depressed, but "The Fountain"... It made me, think, hope, despair, love and cry.