It's not a science fiction story

Rating: 7/10 (3 December 2006)

Spoiler The initial scenes in the bubble amongst the stars are hard to shake. Probably intentionally, they cloud what is really happening. As noted by only a few reviewers, it's not a movie where the characters span 1000 years and it's really not science fiction. The time span may be less than one year. The Spanish story set in 1500 is really the unfinished book written in the present by the dying wife. The star travel is really Jackman's effort to meet his wife's request that he finish the book after her death.
It's the only way to reconcile how the future intrudes on the past at the temple. That intrusion made no sense until I understood that both past and future are part of a book, and as designated author, Hugh Jackman can finish the story as he wants.
The real plot line is Rachel gets cancer and writes story, Hugh as husband stumbles on to something that might have saved her, Rachel dies before Hugh can try it, and Jackman comes to terms with his failure to save her and then finishes her story.