The Fountain is an adaptation of a fictional book written by the fictional character in the film, including that part in the ‘present’ (which you can infer that he wrote into the book out of common sense). The film’s tone is somewhat soap-operatic, but I fail to see how or why the book, and thus the film, would portray her in any less angelic way. When it comes to the film’s espoused philosophy and the rather flat characterizations – this should serve not as a mouthpiece from the director but as a method of informing the audience of the character. The scientist is not Chekhov (himself a doctor), he is not writing this book to start his second career as a writer, he is doing it purely out of love. Just as Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is not about the philosophies of Yukio Mishima, this film is not a philosophical treatise. If you expect rigorous philosophy from a film… I’m not sure you’re looking in the right place. What you will find is poetry, and the film’s aesthetics line up most closely with short poetry as opposed to the techniques used to adapt novelizations or epic poetry. I studied philosophy in college, I continue to read philosophy, I have seen films by Tarkovsky and Malick and Antonioni and Sokurov et al and there is nothing in the film to shake one’s head at – largely because it is irrelevant. If one wants to join the ‘school of nit-picking and actively ensuring that one misses the point and the context which would allow oneself to appreciate film’ by constructing erroneous schema which serve only to highlight the narrowness of one’s own mind then I will fully support everyone in this endeavor as it provides a great deal of humor to passive observers, but I can see where it could derail an involved conversation and thus I can empathize with the unlucky interlocutor in this hapless pairing. I myself side with Bazin in his belief that only positive criticism has any merit, most especially because of my numerous experiences in narrow-mindedly ‘missing the point entirely’ which I found myself doing all too frequently as a younger person and which he who shall remain nameless may someday find himself doing, although perhaps not. There tends to be a yin for every yang, and he hates everything on principle.

Thanks for the tip regarding Australia, since I totally passed on it when it was in theaters. Probably because it has one of the dullest titles of any “epic love story” ever made.

I'll give it a look-see. Same with Quantum of Solace. Casino Royale was so unbelievably terrible (despite the presence of the luminous Eva Green), I had washed my hands of the entire Bond franchise forever. But maybe QoS is worth a rental…

Permit me to mention a few that I was surprised didn't make the list: Munich, The Aviator, Letter from Iwo Jima.

http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=6306

http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=6306

(BTW, LUVIN' Belfast right now! it's cold tho – and i think that more foods should come baked in pastry! ;) )

And I'll concede that I can see how if this movie just doesn't engross you, then you're probably just going to see the silliness of Hugh Jackman blubbering to himself, and the crazy clouds/snow/stars repeating itself is hokey. Along with Gareth – and really, he's just about the only person I “know” that seems to like it as much as I do. My roommate, falls asleep every time we've tried to watch it. Literally, 10 minutes in, she'll be sleeping…Because of the score. Something about Clint Mansell, I guess. (I'm afraid to show her Moon, when it comes out.) :)