If I am to rewrite the synopsis of the movie, it would be: “The Fountain” is a love story about Doctor Tommy (Huge Jackman)’s quest in racing against time looking for a cure for his terminally ill wife Izzy (Rachel Weisz). Torn between time spent in research and and in accompanying Izzy for her last moments, Tommy increasingly found himself fighting a losing battle. Inspired by her husband’s passion, Izzy has written a story called “The Fountain” set in the 16th century leaving the last chapter for Tommy to finish. In Izzy’s story, it was the hero (Huge Jackman)’s quest for the Tree of Life that may save the Queen of Spain (Rachel Weisz) from the oppressive inquisitors. It was Tommy’s circumstances and passion to his wife, his quest for not only a cure but potentially a drug to stop dying, and the meaning of immortality that set one man’s journey in finding a deeper meaning to life and death.
Then again, such a synopsis may not sell as compare to the original synopsis that has a greater sci-fi flavour. Just that to me, “The Fountain” is not exactly a sci-fi movie as expected from reading the original synopsis.
The three stories link well with one another. The love story between Tommy and Izzy is emotional and got Cynthia crying most of the time (lesson learnt: try not to leave tissue papers in the car). The fantasy story between the hero and the queen is a decent story on its own – full of hope and suspense. The sci-fi story about this Buddha looking guy, the future version or immortal version of Tommy, is abstract and for me, it is probably my favourite part of the story because it has got me thinking in many ways. Three stories intertwine and influence the outcomes of one another.
Cynthia and I was pondering what exactly this Tree of Life is as neither of us remember the details (I think most people remember the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad better).
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad (Genesis 2:8-9).
After the man was tempted by his woman who was in turn tempted by the snake to eat the fruits from the Tree of Knowledge that God has instructed them not to, God was not pleased.
For the man and his wife the Lord God made leather garments, with which he clothed them. Then the Lord God said: “See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever.” The Lord God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:21-24).
There you go. This is how “The Fountain” has loosely linked to the Tree of Life. I wonder if any avid bible reader immediately associates the fiery sword held by the priest who guarded the Tree of Life in the movie with the text in Genesis. In case if you wonder what a “cherubim” is (like I do), a cherubim is the second of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.