I had no expectations when I began watching this film. I had heard a little about the special effects, how they were made, but little else to prepare me for what I was about to see.
The film opens with a paraphrase of Genesis 3:24, the Biblical passage that reflects the fall of man. The moment Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge, or good and evil, humans started to experience life as we all experience it now, which is life and death, poor and wealthy, pain and pleasure, good and evil. We live in a world of duality. Husband, wife, we relate everything. And much of our lives are spent not wanting to die, be poor, experience pain. It’s what the movie’s about.
The film seems to imply some sort of reincarnation as it follows the lives of a man and woman played by the same actors with similar names in the past (conquistador/mayan “pyramids”), present(researcher/wife) and future(some weirdness here). The time periods are randomly accessed throughout the film.
The use of material from a mysterious tree, seems to have all manner of magical results.
Although the film is visually appealing, and the acting is above par, the plot is predictable and full of mythical references. It seemed to me that I was viewing essentially the same tale told in 3 different time periods. Triple redundancy.
Like so many recent Sci-Fi movies, it was not believable in the least. At one point, there was a shot of what was supposed to be a dying star, clearly presented just below the belt of Orion. A place known for the birth of many stars. It looked as if they were suggesting that the nebula was visible with the naked eye. I’m not even qualified to call myself an amateur astronomer, but I know enough to have difficulty suspending disbelief and swallow this claim.
All in all, I found the film a little difficult to enjoy. It’s a shame, because I wanted to like it. It was so visually interesting.