The aim of the AAKOM project is to focus on the intersection between esoteric and exoteric sciences. However, apart from articles related to research and book reviews, I would also like to look at cultural expressions that resonate with the same themes. These will include music, films, novels and works of art. So, let's start with a movie.
The Fountain is a 2006 movie directed by Darren Aronofsky. Wikipedia amusingly describe it as an "epic magical realism romantic drama film that blends elements of fantasy, history, spirituality, and science fiction." They forgot to add "action"!
The film is a meditation on three forms of immortality and death: the neuroscientist desperately seeks a physical solution to avert the death of his wife; the conquistador seeks the fountain of youth only to find a naturalistic immortality; and the traveller hopes to reanimate his dead wife, only to find that they may be together again but in another life.
The three strands can be seen as the vacillating philosophies that run through the mind of any human witnessing the slow death of a loved one. Indeed, there are times when the three storylines intersect, suggesting that these are different perspectives of one overall story. The imagery, especially the scenes of the traveller, are breathtaking, and the score by Clint Mansell is often brooding and melancholy.
Aronofsky's starting point was to create a new kind of sci-fi movie. He is quoted as saying, "The interesting things are the ideas; the search for God, the search for meaning." Within the sci-fi genre, The Fountain can sit proudly alongside films such as Solaris, Melancholia and Stalker.
I'd say "Enjoy!" but is probably more appropriate to close with "Immerse yourself!"
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images: wikimedia (fair use), youtube
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