Pretentious piece of crap.

Agreed.

There is no cure for death. I'm guessing the people who love this are religious nutjobs who cannot comprehend that there is no such thing as an afterlife.

Your statement is certainly not objective but merely relative to your own thoughts and feelings.

To think we even have a full grasp of reality is ridiculous to say the least, hence why no one can positively say whether there is some form of conscious existence after death, or not.

I also work in animal research. You don't test on animals to try and save a relative with cancer. It doesn't work that way. There are no instantaneous results. Even if there were you couldn't use it to save a life. It takes years to get to effective human treatments. You also cannot deviate from your research and use some untested crap you found on a tree in South America if it's not in your protocol.

It's often the scientists who sometimes break protocol that make the great discoveries in the fields of science. It's just a film btw, not a medical training video.

And the whole idea that the dagger contains a "map" hahahaha A triangulation does not make a map. You can line those points up anywhere on a map or in the sky. Not special.

And you clearly didn't understand the film.

The part of the film that pertains to the conquistadors in central America trying to find the fountain of youth, that was all part of Izzy's story, the story she was writing for her husband Tom. She gave him the story book so he could "finish it". The film switches back and forth to Izzy's novel.

No need to get all scientifically analytical about a fictional story. The film has absolutely nothing to do with science anyways.

The film is a meditation on death. The whole point of the film was to show the futility of Tom trying to stop his wife from dying. Tom was unwilling to accept that fact, and he became so focused on his scientific research to cure his wife that he ignored spending time with his wife in the present moment.

The whole point of the film is about accepting the reality of death.
(This is all my opinion btw, but it makes the most sense to me). I don't think the director was trying to convince anyone that eternal life actually existed, quite the opposite I think.

reply share

add reply

formatting help

I'm guessing the people who love this are religious nutjobs who cannot comprehend that there is no such thing as an afterlife.

That right there tells me you didn't even come close to understanding the film. There is no typical religious afterlife suggested in this film. Only a continuous circle of life and death in a cosmic scale.

It all must end sometime. Accept it and enjoy what's left with what you have.

That is exactly what the film is saying, and that's what the protagonist eventually realizes. Maybe watch it again and pay attention? Maybe don't call people religious nutjobs for loving something that isn't religious and you don't even understand?

reply share

add reply

formatting help

Doesn't help that I hate Izzy. She's such a self-centered twit. Did they have any conversations where she doesn't interrupt Tommy with her ridiculous ramblings?

Even though you apparently had to turn your TV up to full volume, you still weren't paying attention to the dialog. Anytime she interrupted him, he was speaking about his work - a breakthrough or anything related to her sickness. She intentionally cut him off because she didn't want to hear or talk about it because she has already accepted that she's going to die soon.

reply share

add reply

formatting help

There is no cure for death. I'm guessing the people who love this are religious nutjobs who cannot comprehend that there is no such thing as an afterlife. Ever watch the Highlander? Who wants to live forever?? It all must end sometime. Accept it and enjoy what's left with what you have.

That is EXACTLY what the film is about! Good Lord, you completely missed the point of the film.

Tom refuses to accept that his wife is dying, and instead of spending his remaining time with her, he's locked himself in his laboratory trying to find a cure. He learns (by finishing her book) how to accept death and come to peace with it. How on Earth could you have possibly come to the exact opposite interpretation?

Let me guess, you took all the past/future stuff literally. Well, I'm sorry, but you just didn't get it. The Conquistador stuff that took place in the past was Izzie's book, which was unfinished. Before dying, she asked him to finish the book. The 'spaceman' stuff is HIS attempt to finish it. That's why it's so different in tone. She's a romantic type, he's a scientist; so while she writes about the Mayan concept of Xibalba, he takes it literally and writes about a spaceman literally traveling to the nebula of the same name.

Only the stuff taking place in the present was real, the rest was the book.

Doesn't help that I hate Izzy. She's such a self-centered twit. Did they have any conversations where she doesn't interrupt Tommy with her ridiculous ramblings?

Those 'ramblings' were her attempts to get him to calm down and accept that she's leaving, and to spend his time with her instead of wasting her final days in the laboratory in a desperate attempt to cheat death.

Tom didn't reach understanding until he finished writing the book. The ending was a duality of Izzie's romantic/mystical style of writing and his scientific literalism coming together in a fusion.

You seem to think that it's about a mystical afterlife - it is NOT. All the stuff about the tree, nebula, etc is to make a statement that when we die, the story of the universe does not end. A nebula is the leftover remnant of an exploded supernova, but it will give birth to new stars, just as the Earth and the other planets in the Solar System were born from the ashes of a dead star.

The tree was symbolic as to how when we die and are put into the ground, we become part of the plants, flowers, etc. This is also represented by the scene in which the Conquistador drinks from the tree of life, and spontaneously dies and flowers sprout from his body. The point was, 'eternal life' isn't LITERALLY living forever, it's about being a part of the eternal system of death and rebirth in the cosmos.

In the end, he is enlightened about life and death, and has found inner peace.

If there is ONE message to take away from this movie, it is to celebrate life while you have the chance, and don't let these moments pass you by. I find it ironic that you took the exact opposite interpretation.

After reading all the posts on this board from people who didn't like the movie, I've come to understand that not one of them understands it. I have yet to see one post by someone hating on this film demonstrate that they even understand what happened in it. I think this might be one of the most misunderstood movies of all time.

reply share

add reply

formatting help

Haha! No fast cars? No tits? Ah....it's a piece of crap!

No.

I tell everyone, you'll hate it the first viewing. Give it a few tries, and you'll be a better person for it. I couldn't get through it the first time. I was reaching for some dumb rom com at that point. But I gave it a few tries and I'm so glad I did.

It's romantic, sad, elusive, yet exploitative in terms of realizing our own mortality. We all have this struggle; this film only highlighted the huge measure of it.

Give it another try, bro. You'll be the better for it. And more sophisticated in terms of your understanding of life and good film.

reply share

add reply

formatting help

BINGO!

reply share

add reply

formatting help