Two underrated movies you may have never seen, ‘Sunshine’ and ‘The Fountain’

Posted on August 5th, 2008 by Mark.
Categories: Entertainment, Movies.

Sunshine is a scifi flick that centers around an expedition (Icarus II) which is sent to our dying sun to restart it. This is the second attempt that’s being made the first Icarus having disappeared. The movie is beautifully shot and the cast is first rate. The idea that mankind faced with extinction would be so bold as to embark on such a grandiose mission is at the heart of the story. The sun and the enormity of it as compared to the frailty and smallness of human beings is overwhelming to some of the crew and there is a fair attempt made to explore character issues surrounding that. I think the movie would have been better had they maintained that focus but they add an adventure element to the last third of the movie that is a little disappointing. Still, the film is amazing from a visual standpoint and the deeper meanings explored offer food for thought. It’s an engaging ride… and if you can put yourself into the shoes of the characters for even just a portion of the story it becomes all the more powerful. It’s unfortunate that this movie bombed at the box office, it deserved better than it got and should not have been released as a summer blockbuster. It’s not that kind of a film. If you haven’t seen this movie give it a go and rent it. If you have Bluray all the better, I bet it looks awesome on the format. Here is the main “theme” with clips from ‘Sunshine’:

‘The Fountain’ explores some of the themes that are contained in ‘Sunshine’ and is also shot beautifully. The movie is very deep and a lot of people do not get its meaning. At the center of it all is the story of a couple that are in love but the wife is dying. The husband is a scientist that is looking for a cure to her illness and a way to overcome death in general. There are three distinct story lines interwoven throughout the film. If you don’t understand from the start that this movie is an exploration into love vs. death you won’t “get it”. The three story lines (at least for me) deal with the ways that humanity has sought to overcome mortality. The conquistador deals with the mystical and religious elements, the modern day Tommy deals with the scientific and medical ways we’ve tried to overcome death and then we go to the future where enlightenment and acceptance open the doors to the true meaning of life and death, and how love is central to both. Unfortunately, we as a species are only to the point in our evolution where we look to science for the answers. The movie offers us the hope that we’ll someday come to a point where we understand and accept the natural order of things. This isn’t a popcorn flick. If you’re not ready to think then do yourself a favor and avoid this movie like the plague. If you can embrace the existential then this is a must see. The imagery throughout is stunning and I cannot wait until we have our projector so I can watch this sucker on a big screen. The visuals are just stunning. Jackman and Weisz are both excellent in their roles. You can catch this thing on HBO every couple of months and it’s worth a look.

Both of these movies are of the love em or hate em variety.  I happen to love em. 

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