Writer-director Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain will polarize audiences the same way his Requiem for a Dream did six years ago. On one hand, you’ll find people who will praise it as the work of a brilliant mind, much as Dream was praised; on the other, you’ll surely find people who think it one of the worst films released this year, and who probably wonder what Aronofsky was thinking. In fact, when I saw it, it was obvious that the audience was split, and the reasons for that split were clear.

Suffice it to say that The Fountain will be different from anything else you’ve seen this year -- or perhaps have ever seen. It is, however, much easier to stomach than Requiem for a Dream was, and therefore will be more accessible to a wider audience. Requiem was slapped with an NC-17 rating, but The Fountain skates by with a mild-mannered PG-13. It’s not that Aronofsky’s softening up; it’s just that The Fountain has a different tone.

Whereas Requiem was a hallucinogenic descent into drug-addiction hell, replete with explicit scenes of drug use and sex, The Fountain concerns itself with such themes as love and hope and the search for eternal life. It does this by telling three intertwining stories that span roughly 1000 years, and the pair of lovers in each story are played by the same two actors: Hugh Jackman, whom many will recognize from X-Men and Van Helsing, and Rachel Weisz, whose much deeper résumé includes an Oscar win (Best Supporting Actress, The Constant Gardener), and who is married to Aronofsky. However, getting into the nuts and bolts of how the stories and their characters can possibly be related over such a long period of time would not only give away too much about The Fountain, it wouldn’t do justice to the way Aronofsky has crafted the film.

Aronofsky’s skill as a filmmaker isn’t just how he tells a story, but how he presents it. In fact, you don’t watch his films as much as you experience them -- which is perhaps why The Fountain splits its audience in two. His films use astonishing images, an engrossing soundtrack, and superb editing to draw you into the world onscreen. It’s something you either become immersed in (as I did), or reject outright and remain detached from. Requiem for a Dream planted you in the world of a drug addict; The Fountain puts you into the scenario of a man trying to save his wife. You either get it or you won’t, and you’ll either love his films or hate them.

According to IMDb.com, Aronofsky has only six films to his credit, and only two can be considered Hollywood-type releases: Requiem for a Dream and this one. However, despite his limited output, he’s undoubtedly one of the most original, daring, and talented filmmakers working today. The Fountain is ambitious and often astonishing, and while it may not win over everyone who sees it, remember this: the greatest films never do.

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