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I just saw The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky. I never saw Requiem for a Dream, but I did see Pi.

The most striking thing about The Fountain, I thought, was its narrative clarity. It takes a bit of thinking, but, as with movies I enjoy the most, with a bit of reflection, one sees it is internally consistent. In short, it is a story within a story; and the story within the story includes portions of the containing story.

The other thing that struck me about this movie was its central preoccupation with a significant philosophical claim. It presents an accompanying argument through a mixture of dialogue, imagery, and fantasy. I’’ll leave it to the reader to identify the claim and argument.

The Fountain is an ideal movie. It belongs to a very small percentage of big budget films that require, and reward, serious thought on the part of the viewer.

While I enjoyed Pi, I found The Fountain superior due to its greater clarity.