Very Interesting Way of Dealing

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2007)

I was very intrigued by the idea of this movie when I first heard of it, so I watched it. It's definitely a movie that must be watched a quiet, distraction-free time. Otherwise, it will become difficult to follow and understand. That said, I am glad I watched it.
I saw this movie as not a science-fiction, or a romance, as I have seen comments stating. It's not really about time travel, either. To me, this movie is one man's dealing with the death of a loved one AND his own death.
The use of the past and future lives is his way of dealing. In the past life, he is fighting death. Witness his fighting the Mayan priest. To the end, he fights death, even as he drinks of the tree. I found it rather ironic that, in his past life, drinking from the tree of life DID give him new life - just not in the way one would have thought.
In his future life, he is still fighting death, prolonging his life through the tree, but in the end he deals with it, and he comes to terms - not only with the death of his loved one, but his own death. As per the myth, he sacrifices himself (accepts death) to give life back to the tree.
The present life is the transmission from fighting death to accepting death. Tommy still fights it, but Izzie, who was afraid at first (bathtub scene), accepts death at the end, looking forward to it, and realizing that her death can create new life, as Tommy's unwilling death did in his past life, and his willing death did in the future life.
This movie, in its coming to terms with death, rings very true with me, as I have lost 2 of my close family members to cancer. It's a letter to watchers - death is not a bad thing. Death is not something to fight.