The Plot
Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain was released in 2006. The story is made up of three interwoven storylines from the past, present, and future. The film stitches the three storylines together throughout which can be confusing on an initial viewing, but the narrative ultimately connects the individual storylines to the greater overall meaning of the film. In an attempt to clearly understand the plot in it’s entirety, I’ll run through each storyline individually.
We’ll start with the present-day since the past and future stories both rely on it. Tom Creo (played by Hugh Jackman) is surgeon on a quest to find a cure for cancer, which could end up being a cure for death itself. He becomes engrossed in his research and experimentation, to the detriment of his relationship with his wife, Izzi (played by Rachel Weisz). If you had to sum up one word to describe all of Aronofsky’s films, it would be obsession. Whether it’s Sara Goldfarb’s obsession to be on a gameshow in Requiem for a Dream, Nina Sayers obsession with ballet perfection in Black Swan, or even Max Cohen’s obsession with breaking the Torah’s hidden mathematical code in Pi. The Fountain is no different. Tom’s obsession with finding a cure comes from a very justified place, as we find out Izzi is dying from a malignant brain tumor. In a race against time and to the concern of his colleagues, Tom rushes the scientific process in an attempt to find the cure for his wife. But more significantly, Tom’s obsession with his research comes at the cost of spending time with Izzi during her final weeks — a regret that will quite literally haunt him for the rest of his life. In true tragic fashion, Tom gets news that his latest experiment has a major breakthrough minutes after Izzi passes away. The breakthrough came when Tom decided to try treating a tumor on a monkey using a compound from a unique tree he and his research team found in the Guatemalan jungle.
While Tom was busy searching for a cure, we learn that Izzi is writing a book entitled The Fountain. The book in the present storyline is the basis for the plot of the past storyline which is set in New Spain in the mid-1500s. It follows Tomás Verde (also played by Hugh Jackman), a conquistador sent on a quest to find the Tree of Life for Queen Isabella (also played by Rachel Weisz). Accompanied by Father Avila (Mark Margolis) and a handful of troops, the quest takes Tomás to the Mayan-occupied Central America. Similar to the present storyline, Tomás becomes obsessed with his quest of finding the Tree of Life for his Queen. His relentlessness leaves his troops exhausted to the point they revolt in order to end Tomás’ search. Ultimately, their revolt fails and Tomás pushes forward just as a breakthrough arrives — Father Avila finds the hidden Mayan temple they have been searching for. Tomás battles his way to the top of the temple where he faces a Mayan priest. The priest stabs Tomás in the stomach and takes a swing to his neck with a flaming sword. During this sequence, we see the last line of Izzi’s book read, “Tomás’ fear paralyzed him, all he would see was death.” This is as far as Izzi got in writing the book, but she tasks Tom with finishing the work after she passes.
There is debate about whether the future storyline is a work of fiction (i.e. a continuation of the book that Izzi started and Tom was tasked with completing), or if the future storyline is a continuation of the present storyline (i.e. Tom has found the cure for death and has survived for hundreds of years into the future). The beauty of The Fountain is that the future storyline can serve as a continuation of either the fictional past or the present reality, or perhaps more importantly some cosmic combination of the two. In this ambiguous future, we see a monk-like Tom traveling through space aboard a bubble-like spacecraft. The spacecraft contains a tree that provides Tom with the nourishment he needs to survive. Presumably, this is the same tree that provided the compound that Tom used to cure disease (and, thus, cure death itself). It’s aboard the spacecraft that we see Tom “haunted” by his memories of Izzi. He continuously replays the moments where he denies quality time with Izzi in order to focus on his work. On the spacecraft, Tom creates an ink mix which he uses to tattoo rings around his arm. Like the rings of a tree, Tom’s arm is completely covered in rings which indicates he has been journeying through space for years, maybe even decades. Eventually, Tom arrives to his destination — a dying star the Mayans referred to as Xibalba. The star supernovas as Tom reaches it which vaporizes him and the tree completely.
The Meaning
Some filmmakers intentionally leave the meaning of their films open to interpretation. The Fountain is not one of these films. While certain themes and symbols throughout the film can be interpreted in different ways depending on subjective worldviews, The Fountain’s overall philosophy can be summed up as this:
Life is a brief expression of the universe. Death is not in opposition to life, but rather a necessary part of the larger cyclical nature of the universe. As such, we should spend the short amount of time we have deeply appreciating the experience. And there is no deeper appreciation of the experience of the universe than the experience of love.
In fact, the only time a literal fountain appears in the film is in the bathtub scene below. I believe this scene is often overlooked, but is actually crucial to the meaning of the film. This is the moment where Izzi informs Tom of her awakening. She no longer feels hot and cold, both on a literal medical level and (more importantly) on a metaphorical spiritual level — she’s no longer concerned with the physical world because she understands the true reality of the metaphysical. Izzi tells Tom, “I feel differently. Inside. Every moment. Each one.” She has become completely present in her experience and pulling Tom in the bathtub is her attempt pull him into this experience with her. The “fountain” is overflowing with their love. This moment is the only time we see Tom let go and become completely present with Izzi.
With this being the only fountain depicted in the film, it may seem like an odd title to choose for the film. But Aronofsky has made it clear of what a fountain represents — a recirculation. In an interview following the film, Aronofsky says, “We’re all just borrowing this matter and energy for a little bit, while we’re here, until it goes back into everything else. And that connects us all.” Regardless of your subjective lens (whether it’s religious, spiritual, scientific, etc.), the fact is we are all made of matter that was once created in the furnace of the stars. And when we die, that same matter will be recycled back into the universe. There is significance in that process, and that significance is what The Fountain so beautifully captures.
Themes
Duality
One of the main themes of The Fountain is the duality between the linear view of life (i.e. seeing death as an endpoint) and a cyclical view of life (i.e. accepting death as a step in a much larger journey). Tom represents the former, and Izzi represents the latter. Visually, we can see this throughout the film as Tom/Tomás is in the dark, both literally and figuratively as he has yet to understand the truth about death. Whereas, Izzi/Isabella is always dressed in white or surrounded in light.
Aboard the spacecraft, Tom begins his journey in all black. The closer he gets to Xibalba, the brighter he becomes. Visually, as Tom approaches his impending death, he gets closer to the truth that Izzi had been pulling him towards.
By the end of his journey, Tom finally understands that death is the only way he can be one with Izzi again. What we also see at the end of the film is the difference between Tom and Tomás. Tom’s final action before his death is to calmly place his wedding ring on his finger, indicating he finally understands the meaning of it all.
Rings
This juxtaposes Tomás’ final action, which is an attempt to place the ring given to him by Queen Isabella on his finger. But Tomás has not reached the same understanding that Tom has. In finding the Tree of Life, Tomás mistakenly believes that he has found a way for he and his Queen to be together forever. Drinking from the tree of Life kills Tomás before he is able to place his ring on his finger, because he misunderstands what eternal life really means.
Rings play a powerful symbol throughout the film. Just like the concept of a fountain, rings allude to the circular nature of life and death in the universe. Rings do not have a beginning or an end, which is why they are used as a symbol of love.
Early in the film, we see Tom lose his wedding ring shortly after he rejects quality time with Izzi and decides to experiment with the compound from a tree in Guatemala (that eventually ends up being the compound that cures disease). Much like Tomás, Tom misunderstands eternal life. Tom believes curing Izzi’s disease will allow them to be together forever. His obsession with finding the cure causes him to lose his wedding ring, that is he loses sight of what the wedding ring truly represents.
After Izzi passes, A grief stricken Tom realizes he still doesn’t have the wedding ring. He decides to tatoo a ring on his finger. This symbolizes Tom’s first step in understanding Izzi’s revelation. It’s not about living as long as possible, it’s about being truly invested in love while you’re here. As we fast forward to Tom on the spacecraft, we see him tattooing several rings over his arms. Like the rings on a tree, the rings on Tom’s arms are indication of how long he has been alive. But more importantly, they indicate the regret Tom has faced day after day since losing Izzi.
The Tree
At the center of the story is the tree. The film intertwines several mythologies which all happen to have significant symbolism of a tree. In Mayan cosmology, the World Tree sits at the center of the universe and connects the underworld (Xibalba) with its roots to the heavens with its branches. The trunk of the tree is the middle world (i.e. the present). Again, we see the significance of the connection to the present as part of the greater entirety of the universe. Visually, Aronofsky makes the connection between Izzi and the tree.
Religion
There is a subplot within the story that Izzi writes in which new Spain is being taken over by Evangelicalism. Aronofsky is making a point about religion here. Similar to Tomás’ misunderstanding of the Tree of Life, these Christians also have the meaning of eternal life wrong. They believe punishing themselves in this life will reward them with eternity in the afterlife.
Storytelling
We can look at The Fountain as a work that rejects linear concepts all together. Whether we are thinking about life as cyclical in nature or the traditional
Water
Light
Starfields
Stars, candles, christmas lights