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The Fountain (2006) More at IMDb Pro »

Xibalba (pronounced "shibalba") is the underworld that Tom is destined to reach to be reunited with Izzi.

Xibalba is said to be a nebula with a dying star at its core.

According to a Mayan myth of creation, Xibalba is the place where the heavens and the earth were born.

The main concept is about finding the meaning of life through death.

However there are other themes in the film.

There is a heavy focus on the journey from darkness into light.

Time is cyclical with no barriers in which past, present and future are all connected.

It can be interpreted that the tree of life colliding in the explosion with all the souls in Xibalba creates a new world, as the tree brings new life to these souls. However, some disagree, stating that the tree dying before it reaches Xibalba prevents this. One point to mention is that the tree of life is given new by the Father's sacrifice just before it collides with Xibalba, as witnessed by him leaving the confines of the tree's bubble and preceding it in order to sacrifice himself. Considering such a point, we can indeed conclude that as the tree of life collides with Xibalba, it creates a new world of some sort. This is also supported by the last shot of the movie where it shows Tommy looking up at the sky and the Xibalba nebula disappears, to be replaced by another Nebula in a huge explosion of light.

Some would say the past story is untrue because it comes from Izzis book. However, while there is this to consider, most of the evidence appears in favor of supporting the past story as being true.

1) One big piece of evidence to support the past story being true is that the compound with the extract from the Guatemalan tree actually does work on the monkeys in the present story. This compound reverses aging and even cures cancer. Thus it validates the existence of the Tree of Life in the past story from Izzi's book.

2) There really were Conquistadors, Inquisitors, Mayans, political battles for control in Spain, and Spanish territories in the Americas. While this doesnt outright prove that Izzis book was true, it does show that Izzis book has some basis in reality by having a real setting.

3) In the film Dr. Thomas of the present story is shown to be affected deeply by Izzis book, almost as if it were a real story of the distant past. In one sequence at the beginning of the film Dr. Thomas looks at the light from a bulb and appears to have a momentary hallucination seeing the Xibalba nebula up close in great detail. His face contorts into shock as he comes to a realization. Thomas seeing the Xibalba nebula in a hallucination so early in the film is important because this occurs before Izzi shows Thomas through a telescope Xibalba. In another sequence shortly after reading a few chapters of Izzis book,Thomas has a vivid dream that startles him causing him to awaken petrified. Thus, it appears as if Thomas is recalling the past life vision of Tomas. Even with the parallels between the book and his life, it defies convention that Thomas who is a man of science that doesnt believe in Izzi's stories would be terrified by a fictional story of the past to the point that it causes him to have hallucinations, especially since this starts occurring before Thomas has even started reading the book unless Thomas has actually experienced such a story of the past.

4) In The Fountain graphic novel which Director Darren Aronofsky has called the directors cut of his film, Tom of the future story is shown to have a massive scar on his chest that came from Tomas of the past story getting sliced by the fire sword of the Mayan high priest. Thus in the graphic novel if the future story is accepted as real, then the past story must be real as well, otherwise Tom wouldnt have Tomas identical scar.

5) If the future story in the film is to be accepted as real then the past story must be real as well as the future validates the past. Everything in the Mayan myth of creation Izzy told Dr. Thomas in the present story at the museum that makes up the basis of her book is presented in the future. The future story shows Tom as a godlike figure with a Tree of Life that makes Tom immortal so long as he eats from it. This is identical to the power of the Tree of Life mentioned in Izzis book. Tom just like in the myth from the book is shown to be the First Father that must sacrifice himself so that the Tree of Life may live. Additionally, Tom recalls the past story in vivid detail and accepts it as real as the present story.

6) The past story appears to be treated as equal to the present and future story therefore it must be real. The past story is shown in the film to be on equal footing with the other stories. In particular there is a scene in the past of Tomas racing on horseback towards a castle that is filmed in a very specific manner. This specific manner of filming is repeated again in the present story when Tomas races by car to the hospital and again in the future story when Tom races in the tree ship sphere towards Xibalba. While some would argue this is merely film technique with no meaning, Aronofsky has commented that he made conscious decisions that elicit meaning when filming. Thus, if the past story was not real, it stands to reason that Aronofsky would have filmed the past sequence differently to illustrate that it isnt real and not in the same style as he did with the other scenes in the other stories.

7) According to Aronofsky understanding the film is in the details, the details of Izzys book appear to provide evidence that the past story is true. In real life there have been some people that at some point in their life have started recalling memories of an apparent past life in another age in another body. Some of these people come to believe in reincarnation. One of the methods a person faced with the probability of being reincarnated comes to understand their past life is by writing their resurging past life memories in a diary. Writing your experiences in a diary is a way of recording your experiences so that they may not be stated as real and forgotten. All this is important because Izzys book doesnt come in the binding of traditional fiction. She didnt write her story on a computer and then simply put it into a standard non-lined printed paperback novel with an introduction. Instead, Izzys book was written by hand in a hardcover diary on lined paper with ink from a pen that carries a Mayan symbol for a tip. The difference is significant because if Aronofsky who is a master of details wanted us to believe the past story was fiction undoubtedly he would have had Izzy write her book on a computer or laptop. Instead Aronofsky binds the past story as if it was real in a diary. Further not once in the film is Izzis book called a novel. This is important because the term novel stands for fiction, while the term book stands for real stories.

A few have said that the future story isnt real, that it is only a product of Dr. Thomas imagination in the present story. However, much evidence does appear to make the future story true.

1) In the film Tom in the future story is shown recalling his past lives. If the future was all fiction why would Tom need to recall his past lives?

2) In the present story Dr. Thomas actions appear to validate the future story. Thomas using a pen marks his ring finger with a ring tattoo. In the future story, Tom is shown to have this ring tattoo along with other ring tattoos all over his body that represent the many years that have passed since the death of his wife. In the present story Thomas declares that he will find a cure for death and becomes obsessed with unraveling the secret of live over death. In the future story we see how this obsession has grown and changed Thomas into the Tom figure.

3) The compound with the extract from the Guatemalan tree actually does work on the monkeys in the present story. This compound reverses aging and even cures cancer. Thus it validates the existence of the Tree of Life in the future.

4) In the present story Moses Morales' account from Guatemala of his father that turned into a tree from a seed from a Guatemalan tree that Izzi relates to Thomas and Tomass sprouting of flowers in the past story give credence to the future story being real. In the present story Thomas has acquired a seed, possibly one he got from Izzi on a Guatemalan trip, he carries this seed to Izzis grave and buries it there. The implication from this is that the Tree of Life in the future story comes from this seed and the remains of Izzi, being an amalgamation of the two. Tom reacts to the Tree of Life as if it is his dead wife, caressing it and loving it in a similar manner as he did his wife. Aronofsky makes this clear by making scene transitions back and forth showing Thomas loving his wife in the present story to Tom loving the Tree of Life in the future story.

5) In The Fountain graphic novel which Director Darren Aronofsky has called the directors cut of his film, Tomas of the past story receives a scar by getting sliced by the fire sword of the Mayan high priest and Tom from the future story is shown to still carry this scar. Thus in the graphic novel if the past is accepted as real, then the future must be real as well, otherwise the scar that Tomas received would not still be carried by Tom.

6) The future story appears to be treated as equal to the present story and past story therefore it must be real. In particular there is a scene in the future story where Tom races in the tree ship sphere towards Xibalba, that is filmed in a very specific manner. This specific manner of filming is repeated again in the present story when Tomas races by car to the hospital and again in the past story when Tomas races on horseback towards a castle. While some would argue this is merely film technique with no meaning, Aronofsky has commented that he made conscious decisions that elicit meaning when filming. Thus, if the future story was not real, it stands to reason that Aronofsky would have filmed the future sequence differently to illustrate that it isnt real and not in the same style as he did with the other scenes in the other stories.

7) If the past story in the film is to be accepted as real then the future story must be real as well as the past validates the future. Parts of the Mayan myth of creation Izzy told Dr. Thomas in the present story at the museum that makes up the basis of her book is presented in the past. The past story shows Tomas with a Tree of Life that makes Tomas immortal so long as he eats from it. A similar scene was shown in the future story except now Tom knew not to take much from the Tree of Life to survive. Tomas in the past story is revealed to be the First Father that must sacrifice himself so that the Tree of Life may live. This premise supports the final events of the future story. Additionally, Tomas in the past story envisions a sight of Xibalba that is identical to the one that Tom witnesses at the end of the future story.