tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post6626149853285256707..comments2024-01-26T00:54:19.338+08:00Comments on Lessons From the School of Inattention: The Fountain (2006)Oggs Cruzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-55508488891856981902009-03-01T22:54:00.000+08:002009-03-01T22:54:00.000+08:00Thank you Robbie for that, it simply makes me want...Thank you Robbie for that, it simply makes me want to revisit this.Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-3413463632710197422009-02-28T14:49:00.000+08:002009-02-28T14:49:00.000+08:00After watching the movie several times I have come...After watching the movie several times I have come to an interpretation that is somewhat different. Basically, I believe that there are two realities; The 21st century and the 26th century which folds back into an alternate 21st century. The 16th century was the only fictional part of the story.<BR/><BR/>One of the key scenes in the movie was the scene in which Izzi asks Tommy to take a walk with him. From this scene alone there were two possible futures or choices Tommy could have made. Future 1: Tommy does not follow Izzi and goes into surgery. And Future 2: Tommy follows Izzi and she hands him the seed. <BR/><BR/>In following Future 1 - Tommy ignores Izzi and goes to surgery. In this surgery he makes his breakthrough with Donovan and discovers a compound which seems to basically cure aging and eventually the tumor. Down this path it led him to not accept Izzi's death, led him to obsess over finding a cure for her tumor to save her life, she dies, he mourns, he does not accept it, he works and finds a cure for aging, which he takes himself to sustain his life for centuries, all the while not able to accept the death of his Izzi. He takes Izzi in the form of the tree(likely from his memory of her talking about Moses Morales' father growing through the tree and Tommy planting a different seed over her grave that she did not give him). And ultimately Tom and Izzi(in the form of the tree) are in the ship in the 26th century speeding to Xibalba so Tom can bring her back to life... Tom hasn't finished the book. <BR/><BR/>In this ship Tom struggles with his memories of her. He believes he can bring her back and they both will live. In the final scenes Tom fights the memory of Izzi until she appears as queen Isabela. Finally he trusts Izzi and trusts his memories of her in real life and in her story which makes him realize that only through himself actually dying, finishing the story making Tomas die, and by the final acceptance of her death can he and she be at peace and they can truly be together forever.... <BR/><BR/>He first chooses to change his future at that crucial moment between he and Izzi. In this, Future 2, he follows Izzi outside, abandons his work, she gives him the seed, he understands, and he accepts her eventual death and makes the best of his time with her while she lives. In essence, by choosing this path he has altered his own future, eliminating himself from ever having to obsess over finding the cure, and living through his denial into the 26th century. He has eliminated that future. <BR/><BR/>That is why the movie ends with Tommy, his wedding ring back on his finger because he never went and lost it in surgery, plants her seed, and is accepting her death.<BR/><BR/>so, just a little different interpretation, but that's the beauty of this movie. I love it!<BR/><BR/>Robbie<BR/><BR/>http://robbiejaramillo.livejournal.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-31580766900627728622007-02-19T23:57:00.000+08:002007-02-19T23:57:00.000+08:00Thanks Andy,...and thanks to your blog for all the...Thanks Andy,<BR/><BR/>...and thanks to your blog for all the updates on the blog-a-thons.Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-78376964065115543912007-02-19T23:03:00.000+08:002007-02-19T23:03:00.000+08:00I like what you've done with the film here. Too of...I like what you've done with the film here. Too often film critics use their reviews as a space to figure out first what the filmmaker <EM>meant</EM> to say, and then how well they said it.<BR/><BR/><EM>I</EM> prefer film criticism that says, <EM>What can I make/take from this film?</EM> Film criticism as an act of appropriation and interpretation: <EM>After</EM> The Fountain<EM></EM>...<BR/><BR/><EM>My interpretation may be seen as a disservice to Aronofsky's scope and ambition.</EM><BR/><BR/>No critics' interpretation that is open-minded can possibly be a disservice to a filmmaker!andyhorbalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11579148222763743531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-2037557338098450262007-02-19T00:53:00.000+08:002007-02-19T00:53:00.000+08:00Thanks johnnyflash,I was actually quite tempted to...Thanks johnnyflash,<BR/><BR/>I was actually quite tempted to interpret it that way, but it left me troubled with the way the 16th century line ended --- which I thought was very literary (fable-like), as opposed to the 26th century line's ending which was still consistently very dreamlike.<BR/><BR/>Yes, everything happens in the 21st century. The film feels a lot tighter viewing it that way.Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-40347514177387709352007-02-19T00:48:00.000+08:002007-02-19T00:48:00.000+08:00It is kind of related to your own interpretation, ...It is kind of related to your own interpretation, but I always felt that the 16th century was Izzi's book, written mainly to explain her feelings and struggle(and support) to Tom. The 21st century story is the only "real" story, the only one that "really" happens. The 26th century story is the final chapter of Izzi's book, written by Tom. I viewed it as him working out his issues of grief through this story, no dissimilar to the dream sequence theory you posit.<BR/><BR/>The finale of the film, where the 26th and 16th centuries converge, is Tom's way of coming to terms with everything, including his own guilt that he kept missing everything Izzi was trying to tell him, until it was too late.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-14497894157843844902007-02-18T19:20:00.000+08:002007-02-18T19:20:00.000+08:00Thanks Pacheco.Thanks Pacheco.Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-1237985568453456432007-02-18T10:58:00.000+08:002007-02-18T10:58:00.000+08:00When I saw the film, I loved it, but didn't feel i...When I saw the film, I loved it, but didn't feel it was <I>quite</I> as effective (as it could be) as-is, and I didn't want to accept the reality as it was presented to me. However, I didn't know how I <I>would</I> accept it.<BR/><BR/>Your ideas make sense to me, and really make me want to revisit a film I already loved even more. Well done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com