The Fountain

It may require a PhD to really understand this film. haha Thanks to the message board at IMDB.com, I think I understand it, mostly.

This film has three settings: Past, Present, and Future.

The Past: Izzie (Rachel Weisz) is a writer, working on a novel called 'The Fountain.' The 'past' part of the story is the fiction of her novel which she writes, which is about a Spanish Conquistador named Tomas (Hugh Jackman), who is searching for the Fountain of Youth (the title of the book; I assume), or The Tree of Life. Now, these are 2 different things, in my mind, but in this movie, they're the same thing. Izzie's story includes the Mayan myth about the Tree of Life, the first man, and a dying star that the Mayans believed was the underworld.

The Present: Izzie is dying of brain cancer, or a tumor in the brain. Tommy (Hugh Jackman again) is a doctor working with animals and experimental procedures, searching for a cure for his wife. The bark of a tree (Tree of Life? Maybe?) seems to shrink the tumor in a monkey, but are they in time to save Izzie? You'd have to watch to find out.

The Future: Izzie has asked Tommy to finish her novel, so he does. The 'future' part of this movie is the fiction of the novel which Tommy writes, which is about an astronaut travelling with the Tree of Life (okaaayyy...) in his round, bubble spaceship (creative, and unlike what we normally define as a 'spaceship') toward the same dying star that the Mayans worshipped. According to the myth, once the star dies, it will give off new life. So Tom (astronaut) is taking the Tree of Life there to save it; it is dying. It symbolizes Izzie, of course.

This film was visually stunning, and all with absolutely NO CGI! I watched the 'Behind the Scenes' footage; they used absolutely no CGI. The three stories were interspersed throughout, so it was hard to put it all together. There's debate that Future Tom was real. I don't think so. I think Tommy made him up as a character.

Anyhow; both Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz were excellent in their roles. The story was very sci-fi and a bit 70's trippy at times, but it was good.

Recommended!
Grade: B for 'Baffling.' haha JK

Have a great day.