Wednesday, November 22, 2006
If you are thinking about going to see this film, don't, at least not in the theatres. This film, although fairly beautiful to look at, was very confusing and difficult to understand. It takes place over 3 different time periods interweaving together. However there is no telling which one is real, or maybe they all are, or one might be the imagination of a written story. This film has strong Buddhist themes mixed with ancient Aztec believes and early Christianity. The story really revolves around Hugh Jackman’s character Tom (and various forms of Tom). He is either fighting for his life as a Spanish conqueror looking for the Tree of Life. Or, he is a research doctor fight to find a cure for his wife’s brain tumor. Or, he is flying around in space, in what can only be described as a bubble with a tree in it. Now I liked Darren Aronofsky other films (Pi and Requiem for a Dream) but this one left you with so many unanswered questions. It is a film that takes you nowhere, the journey of the characters is really slight. The main themes are love, spirituality and death, each are given place in the characters lives, but nothing is really explained well. You have no ideas to the past or process of the characters arc.
The actors did great, Hugh and Rachel Weisz add raw emotions and excitement to the screen. It was great to watch them interact and see the dilemma that Hugh had to struggle with. Innovative filming and music really made it a treat to watch, however without understanding the main story I was left a little detached from the film.
The film is defiantly in a category all on it’s own. I am not sure where is goes because I am not sure of the story itself. It is very different, but I would not see it again for a while. It was very, very, very slow and for about 45 minutes you have no idea what is going on (or for the entire film). It felt like it was 2 ½ hours long, but it came under 90 minutes.
Wait for the DVD to come out.
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