Why the hell I love this movie + Explanations
I just saw the film for the second time. The first time I was 14, and I gave it the score of 7. Why? Well, many parts didn't make sense to me (I thought it had something to do with Buddhism so that tells you something) but I still loved the visuals, the vague ideas I could grasp and especially the beautiful music.
Today, I bumped my score up to a 9, and here's why. Before I get detailed, I have to say this is a subjective score exclusively based on how much I enjoyed it, as I don't try to waste my time by picking some "objective" number based on technical quality, perfection of the script, how it compares to Citizen Cane, etc.
Reason #1.
I get it now. I'm 22, this is 8 years later, and I've lived some life. I have thought deeply about the themes explored in this film such as death, fear, pride, religion, sacrifice, and the meaning of immortality. I also know a bit about stars and cosmology so I more clearly understood what happened at the end.
Reason #2.
I can relate to Hugh Jackman's character... Because I like it I'll just call him Jack. To me, Isabel was my late great grandmother. You can't save the ones you love from death... no matter how much you'd like to. And to see why that is not only a selfish idea, but the exact opposite of what you should embrace is a hard lesson. Wishing you could see them every day again and appreciate them the way you should have... all you can ever do is be thankful for your memories. That is where your loved ones truly live and how they will never die. We have to take them with us till our last breaths, before we give back to the world from which we came.
Reason #3.
The music is even more beautiful than I remembered.
Reason #4.
The acting. I think I've become a more empathetic person in the past 8 years. I'm not all wrapped up in my own issues anymore. I know more about love and loss and can truly relate and connect with people after the stories they've told me. I tear up a lot more during movies. When I saw Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman crying, especially towards the very end when he sees his wife and he screams at her to leave him alone, I felt it. I cried, because that's how I feel. Too often, I've wanted to forget how much of a loss I've experienced because of the pain, but I can't. I probably couldn't have balled this hard if the acting was sub-par.
Reason #5.
I respect and admire this film as an artistic statement. So many people it seems are wrapped up in the characters and the plot, not the symbolism or messages.
Now, because I promised it in the title, let me spell out my interpretation for you all:
PAST:
The events in Spain/the Mayan Temple didn't happen. They were the story written by Isabel---the story finished symbolically at the climax as Jack ended it exactly as Isabel intended him to, now that he finally understands that death = immortality through destruction and rebirth (the sap killing him and turning him into shrubbery). With that said, *everything* is symbolic of the true present day story. The Inquisitor represents Jack's search for a cure to cancer--motivated by guilt, masochism, pride, and fear--which tears apart both Spain and their marriage. The opposite is the search for immortality as in the tree of life, motivated by love for the Queen (Isabel). Her ring symbolized their real-life marriage, and unity with each other. When it is dropped, the conquistador (Jack) is separated from her, both physically and spiritually.
FUTURE:
Future Jack's story may or may not have actually happened, as it's left open for interpretation. In certain ways, it both did and didn't. The obvious here: Jack is clearly immortal due to the tree's bark, and has found a way to travel through space in a self-sustaining vessel where it can survive. Given vast amounts of time, this is not so far-fetched. I also believe this tree of life is Elisabeth, grown from her body in an attempt to take her with him to the dying star, Xibalba. There, he plans to be destroyed by the star as it implodes from its own gravity and bursts into a supernova. In this, their bodies will finally and totally be obliterated and spread again throughout the universe (sacrifice and rebirth). Notice the ring. He finds it again because in death, he can finally join Elisabeth in the purest way possible. Though I believe this is all physically happened for the sake of the film's message and art, it is undoubtedly marked with symbolism as he experiences a spiritual journey.
PRESENT:
Jack has neglected his wife in her final days. So wrapped up in his work trying to save her from cancer, he denies her last attempts at joy while alive. He tries to protect or save her from death, whereas she accepts it. She wants him to accept it as well, but knows he can't. So, she writes a book to send the message, with the final chapter empty. He loses the ring... and to punish himself and remind him of his mistakes, he marks the place of the ring by injecting his finger with ink... if you believe that the future is real as I do, he will continue to mark his body with the pen Isabel gave him for the rest of his life, for every year like the rings in a tree until they are reunited once more. To connect the present with the future, we are then shown two critical moments in Jack's timeline---when he decides to dedicate his life toward fighting death and when he finally accepts it. Whereas he once thought death a disease that must be cured, it took him an eternity to reach the conclusion that that is not so. Near the end of his life he has a final confrontation with Isabel and fantasizes about what could have been. In that moment he knows how to finish the story, and is finally destroyed by Xibalba, joining with her in cosmic annihilation. The final scene shows the exact moment when he decides what must be done. Unbeknownst to him for what lies ahead, he will find a way to reach that dying star. He says goodbye to her body, which is buried at the farm, and plants the tree that he will take with him. Everything will be ok.
To end this I will say that there can be many more interpretations to the film, and mine is only one. I know it isn't perfect either, but after thinking so much about it I think I finally got it right. I only hope my thoughts and perspective will help some people to understand what fans see in this movie, and why we regard it so highly. Thanks for reading.