MovieChat Forums > The Fountain (2006) Discussion > What The Fountain means to me

What The Fountain means to me

posted 9 years ago by SirKhanRamboDubuc
4 replies | jump to latest

What I take from it, is that the old man is Tommy when he is dying. He died at the beginning of the film, his mind travels to when Izzie died and when he first felt fear of death and the ending of love. The reality of the Tree is what he felt like it always but seeing trees as undying beauty, he pictures her as one of them. The other is that he eventually becomes a tree, as he became a part of the ''Tree of Life'' and she lives on, and in reality he feels that is how it's meant to be. But everyone dies, so his revelation is that he saw the man in the hospital as himself when he was dying and the fears swarmed him, he is the reason his fantasies turned on himself, as he is God. It's a very religious movie. He is the creator, and he flpked up. It is one man discovering God the same way Ryan Reynolds did in THE NINES. Which is also a good movie.

[–] Floyd_Pinkerton 9 years ago

Spot on. The space sequences are so clearly an abstraction of Tommy's mental state as he reflects on his deathbed. There is no other reason to put in that hospital scene (nor the numerous seamless visual transitions between the "space" sequences and "present" sequences).

[–] tpallarino 9 years ago

I don't know man. When I saw it I definitely didn't get that idea. I just thought the old man was a very frightening reminder of how humans will cling to life even when it is painful when letting go would be so much easier. The man was obviously struggling to breathe and was experiencing a tremendous amount of suffering and so really, why even be alive at that point. I think he was there both to remind Tommy of his dying wife and to parallel his inability to accept death even though it's causing him tremendous anxiety and suffering.

The space sequences were clearly his mental state, but I don't think for the reasons you suggest. I see the space sequence as an allegory of sorts, representing the journey to death, and how we cling on to death for as long as we possibly can, but no matter how much we try (paralleled by his attempt to revive the tree of life/Izzy), death is imminent. The space sequence shows Tommy's journey to acceptance of the inevitability of death. When he realizes that he must die in the allegory, he also is able to come to terms with the death of Izzy (burying the seed in the ground).

[–] SirKhanRamboDubuc 9 years ago

THANKS BRO

[–] thulk01 9 years ago

Was following you up until "as he is God." Can you explain your entire theory again?