The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

A.O. Scott in the New York Times has a mixed reaction to finally seeing Darren Aronofsky’s much-delayed film version of the Fountain. He seems a bit disappointed in terms of narrative and character, but in terms of sheer experience he seems quite impressed:

“The three stories are not told in linear order, but in a circular, swirling pattern that suggests a mandala or a Mayan calendar. Circles also figure prominently in Mr. Aronofsky’s visual scheme, and he seems to be trying, with a seriousness of purpose that few American filmmakers attempt, to subvert the essentially sequential nature of film. Like a story by Jorge Luis Borges, “The Fountain” dispenses with everyday assumptions about time, space and causality and tries to replace the prose of narrative cinema with a poetic language of rhyming images and visual metaphors.”

Going by the graphic novel version that sounds about right to me and a tale which reminds you of the great Borges is no bad thing – very eager to see the film version now.