My interpretation of events...

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2007)

From the first time I heard of it, I was very interested by the concept of Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain," starring Aronofsky's wife Rachel Weicz and Hugh Jackman. It has been receiving an extraordinarily mixed reaction from critics and audiences, and there seems to be very little middle ground. It is, truth be told, a bit pretentious, and (if my interpretation is correct) it's not saying anything new (it's the same basic idea as the moral of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"), but it's quite an impressive work of art. It is an interesting, poetic film, with a great performance from Hugh Jackman (Rachel Weicz's role is less substantial, as only in the 2000 segment is she given a real part, but she is also good).
Without having looked at any of the other theories that have been posted, this is my interpretation: the anchor story is the 2000 segment (although there's no specific dates given, other than in the trailer), about the quest for medical immortality. Thomas is looking for the medical "fountain of youth/life", while Izzie has found a kind of acceptance about death and the universe. The 1500 segment is her allegorical story about her life, with the last chapter left open for Thomas to write. In the 2000 segment, Thomas finds the medical fountain, but too late, and so he lives into the 2500 segment, traveling with the Mayan spirit-tree thing to the nebula. The tree dies, just as Izzie died right before the cure was found, and so he realizes the truth about death and the afterlife. The final section of the 1500 segment, which we see intercut with the finale in 2500, is Thomas' realization of how the last chapter of Izzie's book should be written.
My assumption through most of the film was that Tomas found the Tree of Life and he and Queen Isabella lived into the 2000 segment, at which point she became ill, since the Tree doesn't grant invulnerability; obviously, I changed this perception when Tomas turned into a flower bush.
The other interesting thing I noted was that the Grand Inquisitor's spiel about death was more or less correct; the characterization of the body as a "prison" doesn't really fit, but the idea of death freeing all souls is right.
I give it a 10 out of 10 as a work of art; it should be seen by people, even if many will not like it.