“Those are all real wounds on Stephen McHattie. To this day that remains a shame because it’s Aronofsky’s most emotional, complex, and rewarding film. 5. The old man in the hospital bed who looks to Tommy is a very personal scene for Aronofsky. The three stories flow into and out of one another. For all we may make out of this, or what Aronofsky wanted to portray (seldom actually commenting on how he intended the film to be viewed as) ‘The Fountain’ could be the tale of Tommy’s realisation of the true nature of death over three lives, or a manifestation of the same story in three different ages, of man’s initial resistance, denial and subsequent acceptance, offering multiple and unique interpretations, and therein lies the beauty of Aronofski’s underrated gem of a film. They did take after take of the scene with Izzie in the bathtub. While Tom is in denial and refuses to finish the book saying he doesn’t know the end to it, Izzi reassures him, saying that he will. 27. Aronfosky’s commentary for the film validates this belief. As stated, some of the audience may perceive the events to be occurring in a timeline of sorts, but again, that is completely open to interpretation. It’s not like we need Aronofsky to tell us why that is, but he does an adequate job explaining how much The Fountain means to him. The image of the tree -- the oldest living things on Earth, with their roots gripping the ancient soil and their branches reaching for the heavens -- is at the core of the movie, and the source of some of Aronofsky's most spine-tingling effects, from the tiny hairs on its trunk to its milky, essence-of-life sap. Aronofsky was going to cut the “death is a disease” moment, but then he saw how important it was for the film. But unlike some other films that have divided critics this year, "The Fountain" springs from a passion to take risks, rather than from hedged bets (M. Night Shyamalan's tepid, jokey, incoherent "Lady in the Water") or stillborn multi-story conceits (the calculating "Babel"), where the various narrative threads are only tenuously connected to a core theme. 10. They photographed chemical reactions through a microscope for the elements that surround Tom’s ship. A nirvanic apparition of ‘future’ Tommy appears in front of the priest, who recognises him as the “First Father” and offers to sacrifice himself, to be set on the road to awe. Weisz did the scene where Izzie tells Tommy about how Moses’ father grew into a tree all in one take. He doesn’t breakdown what it all means, but instead chooses to focus on the making-of and the kind of details that make his film grow richer on repeat viewings. The film took “six or seven years” to make, but that long period of time trying to get a movie made isn’t new to Aronofsky. fountain definition: 1. a stream of water that is forced up into the air through a small hole, especially for decorative…. 7. Izzi is shown picking a sweetgum from the tree, and handing it over to ‘present’ Tom, who then plants it in her grave as an act of acceptance, (as told above) bidding her a hearty farewell.

Aronfosky’s father had a cameo.