Have you ever felt like you were born in the wrong era; the wrong time, the wrong place? I have often thought that I should have been born in the 1950's, a time of cool cars, fantastic fashion and a love of curvy women. A time when everyone smoked, sipped strong liquor from gorgeous glasses and things seemed to be whole lot simpler on the surface. Unfortunately, it truly is just the surface that I like about that time, because we all know that the 1950's was also rife with gender inequality, chauvinism, unwanted pregnancies, prejudices, political unrest and ridiculous ideas about parenting.
You see no matter which period of time you fall in love with or feel some affinity to, there is always going to be some seriously shitty things that go with that era that will whip the gloss off it quicker than a bottle of turpentine.
If you are someone that romanticizes about living in last century then you have a whole other load of unsavory possibilities to contend with, aside of the magnificent dresses and ballroom events, there was a serious possibility of incurable disease, overwhelming poverty, corporal punishment or even Jack the Ripper! Head even further back in time and it gets even messier, you could be burned at the stake, disemboweled, beheaded, tortured or worse, and these were everyday occurrences.
Putting it bluntly, there never was and there will never be a perfect or completely safe time period in which to be born, however by comparison we have come a mighty long way and conditions, as pitiful as they appear to be at times, are as good as they have ever been.
Still though, who hasn't had dreams about wandering the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in their full glory, seeing the Acropolis when Athena still stood tall within it's walls, finding out what really went down at Stonehenge, walking down Hollywood Boulevard when Marilyn Monroe and James Dean were still alive, rocking out at Woodstock or slapping a peanut butter sandwich out of Elvis' hand?
The grass always appears to be greener on the other side, but I'd bet that anyone from those times would've killed to live in a more modern time like ours. A time when people in a first world country can enjoy a life expectancy of over 80 years, can freely express their sexual persuasions, can find the answers to most things at the touch of a button and can even go shopping without anything but a plastic card. But that's just the peachy side, I bet none of them ever had to consider Global Warming, declining forestry, epidemic obesity, slow wi-fi, reality TV, Facebook rants or terrorism either, so that just proves my point, there is no perfect time period in which to be born- there never has been, and there never ever will be. Still though....nice to imagine what a sneak peak would be like now and then, I just know that I would look great in some of those sweet 50's dresses!
You see no matter which period of time you fall in love with or feel some affinity to, there is always going to be some seriously shitty things that go with that era that will whip the gloss off it quicker than a bottle of turpentine.
If you are someone that romanticizes about living in last century then you have a whole other load of unsavory possibilities to contend with, aside of the magnificent dresses and ballroom events, there was a serious possibility of incurable disease, overwhelming poverty, corporal punishment or even Jack the Ripper! Head even further back in time and it gets even messier, you could be burned at the stake, disemboweled, beheaded, tortured or worse, and these were everyday occurrences.
Putting it bluntly, there never was and there will never be a perfect or completely safe time period in which to be born, however by comparison we have come a mighty long way and conditions, as pitiful as they appear to be at times, are as good as they have ever been.
Still though, who hasn't had dreams about wandering the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in their full glory, seeing the Acropolis when Athena still stood tall within it's walls, finding out what really went down at Stonehenge, walking down Hollywood Boulevard when Marilyn Monroe and James Dean were still alive, rocking out at Woodstock or slapping a peanut butter sandwich out of Elvis' hand?
The grass always appears to be greener on the other side, but I'd bet that anyone from those times would've killed to live in a more modern time like ours. A time when people in a first world country can enjoy a life expectancy of over 80 years, can freely express their sexual persuasions, can find the answers to most things at the touch of a button and can even go shopping without anything but a plastic card. But that's just the peachy side, I bet none of them ever had to consider Global Warming, declining forestry, epidemic obesity, slow wi-fi, reality TV, Facebook rants or terrorism either, so that just proves my point, there is no perfect time period in which to be born- there never has been, and there never ever will be. Still though....nice to imagine what a sneak peak would be like now and then, I just know that I would look great in some of those sweet 50's dresses!
THE FOUNTAIN
Release Date: 2006
Rating: M
Running Time: 96 mins
Visually pleasing and somewhat complicated, this fantasy-drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, blends elements of history, spirituality and science fiction and runs with three story lines, in which the main characters play different sets of people and the stories interweave with each other about themes of love and mortality.
Izzi (Rachel Weisz) is dying of cancer, and her scientist husband Tom (Hugh Jackman) is desperately trying to discover a cure, despite her requests to just spend more time with her while he can. Whilst Tom is in the lab, Izzi is writing a 16th century novel; during retell moments of her writing, Tom and Izzi assume the roles of the main characters within her story. Without the time to finish the story, Izzi asks Tom to finish the novel for her when she dies, and she creates an imaginary outer space biosphere where they can meet in the afterlife by the Tree of Life.
The Fountain is unlike anything I have seen before, meshing time, space, religion and reality into one movie is most certainly an ambitious undertaking, and one that I feel will just frustrate a lot of audiences. The transitions and changes in tone are abrupt and that does make it seem slightly disjointed at times, but if you have a strong imagination, you'll find it intriguing and complex in a delightful way.
FINAL SAY: You pull me through time.
3.5 Chili Peppers
Release Date: 2006
Rating: M
Running Time: 96 mins
Visually pleasing and somewhat complicated, this fantasy-drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, blends elements of history, spirituality and science fiction and runs with three story lines, in which the main characters play different sets of people and the stories interweave with each other about themes of love and mortality.
Izzi (Rachel Weisz) is dying of cancer, and her scientist husband Tom (Hugh Jackman) is desperately trying to discover a cure, despite her requests to just spend more time with her while he can. Whilst Tom is in the lab, Izzi is writing a 16th century novel; during retell moments of her writing, Tom and Izzi assume the roles of the main characters within her story. Without the time to finish the story, Izzi asks Tom to finish the novel for her when she dies, and she creates an imaginary outer space biosphere where they can meet in the afterlife by the Tree of Life.
The Fountain is unlike anything I have seen before, meshing time, space, religion and reality into one movie is most certainly an ambitious undertaking, and one that I feel will just frustrate a lot of audiences. The transitions and changes in tone are abrupt and that does make it seem slightly disjointed at times, but if you have a strong imagination, you'll find it intriguing and complex in a delightful way.
FINAL SAY: You pull me through time.
3.5 Chili Peppers
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