In The Fountain (2006) there are three separate but related stories told in parallel--Imperial Spain, present day, and .. um, space bubble. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz play the leading lad & lady in each.

Can we consider space bubble "Tom" to be one and the same with present-day "Tommy" after some years have passed? Or is it more symbolic just as Imperial Spain "Tomas" was an envisioning of Izzy's novel?

I ask because (major spoilers!)

it is possible that the doctor/researcher Tommy, who towards the end declares that "Death is a disease", actually manages to find the cure. He could then become immortal and eventually take Izzy's tree in the space bubble to Xibalba. The linking of these two story threads explains Tom's visions of Izzy amongst other things. However I also feel it betrays the message I got from the film--namely that we cannot win against death--and that at the end Tommy accepted Izzy's passing and stopped his search for a cure for death.