Film Inception

[t.ska]

Were you high? No one fucking died. It was all a dream.

you post said the good guys never got hit, and you were false. reality was subjective from the start anyways.

 

[Kenickie]

here's a cool image (actually, cooler than the movie) that explains the entire thing.

NSFW for spoilers(?)

NSFW:

 

[AmorRoark]

^ Neat-o!

 

[Belisarius]

Excellent film; a rare five-star from me. Bears multiple viewings; wouldn't be surprised to see it eclipse The Matrix in psychedelic subculture at all, though they're totally different. Actually, a film that it reminds me much more of that hasn't been mentioned yet is eXistenZ.

Anyways, this will be one of my favorites for sure. Need time to process...

 

[puckboy]

Saw this last night, absolutely great film :D

Maybe i've taken far too much DMT in the past, but i could relate to so much of this film on so many different levels.. i absolutely loved it. It's refreshing to once in a while come across an intelligent plot that wraps itself around so many layers of thought.

Good stuff.

Interesting you say that as I related to alot of the ideas put foward in the film with previous DMT experiences I've had also. I can't say more simply because it would be too hard to put into words. Once again, great film.

 

[redrangercraig]

Got round to seeing this on Saturday and was as amazing as I hoped! Ending was the only disappointing aspect.

Will probably see it again soon (after Scott Pilgrim vs. The World!)

 

[silentangst]

Fantastic.

 

[AxnJxn]

The best movie I've seen in a long time, probably since The Dark Knight, and that was mostly driven by Heath Ledger's brilliance. Nolan is quickly becoming a favorite director of mine. Thought the movie was perfect in so many ways: casting/acting, storyline, visual, even the music was nailed. I can't wait to see this again and again to pick up many things that I likely missed on first viewing.

I also have to agree that Leo DiCaprio is quickly becoming a top notch actor, who picks some fantastic films. He's already shown good range earlier in his career with What's Eating Gilbert Grape and The Basketball Diaries, so now he is clearly picking roles based on the value of the movie.

Easy 5/5 for me. Other than possibly Toy Story 3 or a nicely done independent film here or there, I can't imagine there will be a better film this year.

 

[Taoluo]

Inception became one of my favourite movies when I watched it, and at the same time Nolan was sealed as my favourite director.

I found the ending pretty fitting but I can see people thinking differently.

 

[grimble crumble]

*spoilers*

In some of the interviews I heard on the radio, Ariadne and Mal were key figures in Cobb's evolving mental state and the interpretations of their roles led me to see something different in this film than most others:

NSFW:

What I picked up in interviews was that Ariadne was something of a therapist for Cobb, so I went into the film with that already in my head. As such, I could watch the entire film and see her playing that role, in trying to get him to come to terms with his wife's death.

The kicker for me was that I viewed the entire film as having been a therapy session for Cobb, a dream of his if you will. The male characters all served purposes, such as Saito being his fear of growing old alone and needing a key to reconcile with himself. Arthur being the part of Cobb's personality that was always logical, dependable, looking out for him, but sometimes missing something...his conscious self, if you will. Eames being the hero, suave and slick whilst also able to fight off an army single handed...what a lot of men hope they have as part of their character. The Professor representing what he was taught (by his father? elders? someone) in terms of guilt and relationships, dealing with feelings - best of intentions, but "I'm just doing what you taught me". Fischer merely served as a distraction (Cobb is going after someone else, not himself) and a means of getting deep enough into himself to get this inception, this seed of self forgiveness, planted so he could move on. I viewed all the characters, and sub-stories, as a means of getting to this point of self-actualization ... however, Cobb couldn't do it on his own.

Enter Ariadne, a non-threatening, small, unestablished character introduced to his psyche who then proceeds to probe deeper into his own issues - to question him and push him deeper into facing himself in ways that none of the other characters have dared to do (perhaps, because they are projections of his sub-conscious? ). She's the one that forces him to face Mal, and tries to explore Cobbs inner secrets and memories, to coach Cobb in overcoming this issue for the safety of all the players (and by extension, himself).

There is a lot of metaphorical imagery to support this take on the film. There is the crumbling world Cobb and Mal built, the use of a 'long journey home' to return to his family, the obvious elevator of Cobb's memories which Ariadne takes to the basement for her real confrontation with Mal, the freighttrain that is Mal's unpredictable and unstoppable influence on Cobb's plans (in addition to being the echo of their lonely world), etc.

So there you have it, my interpretation where this was all Cobb's therapy session under Ariadne's guidance. Also supported by the ending

I was also thinking about this the other day, and there is a problem with your viewpoint. when I first saw the movie I thought there were only 3 main ways the film can be interpreted. they are as follows: *spoilers*

NSFW:

1. that the mission and motives behind it were real and that Cobb and his team succesfully completed the inception thus returning Cobb to his family

2. That the mission and motives behind it were real and that in the end Cobb remained stuck in limbo and returning to his family was just his mind dreaming

3. what the above article is saying, basically that the entire movie was a therapy session for Cobb and that it was all his dream with each character (especially Adriadne) serving to represent a piece of Cobbs conscious.

HOWEVER, number 3 while it is very cool and seems like it definetily could fit, CAN NOT be true. the reason is because of the spinning top. now I would have to watch the movie again to verify this but if what I remeber is correct. there were certain scenes which showed the top to constantly spin(=dream) and certain scenes which showed it to spin and fall over(=not dream), and that in the scenes where it spun and fell, other characters were present thus making them real people.

 

[Belisarius]

Saw this movie again tonight--the first first-run movie I've watched alone since Jurassic Park. No joke!

New (possible) insight behind tags...

NSFW:

Found another intriguing hint that the whole movie was Cobb's dream. Note that when he sees Mal on the ledge, that the hotel room she's standing outside of looks almost exactly like the very room he's in--note the flowers, the white decor, etc., though it's vague enough to keep you guessing. Either it's another wing of the hotel across an alley (which begs the question of how she got into that "other" room, let alone out on the ledge), or it's a completely different hotel that somehow has identical rooms (which is even weirder).

 

[grimble crumble]

Saw this movie again tonight--the first first-run movie I've watched alone since Jurassic Park. No joke!

New (possible) insight behind tags...

NSFW:

Found another intriguing hint that the whole movie was Cobb's dream. Note that when he sees Mal on the ledge, that the hotel room she's standing outside of looks almost exactly like the very room he's in--note the flowers, the white decor, etc., though it's vague enough to keep you guessing. Either it's another wing of the hotel across an alley (which begs the question of how she got into that "other" room, let alone out on the ledge), or it's a completely different hotel that somehow has identical rooms (which is even weirder).

NSFW:

what about then spinning top then? (read my post before this one). I really think its impossible that the entire movie was cobbs dream

 

[thefoot]

It was a good movie.. but not THE BEST MOVIE EVER like everyone makes it out to be

 

[aanallein]

I saw it sober and thought it was great. For how much happened from start to finish, it was amazingly put together. That's the part that really blew my mind. At times the pace seemed rushed (like in Dark Knight) but it had to be that way (like in Dark Knight haha) because pretty much every event/scene was critical to the story.

I really don't know how people would fail to understand unless you were really intoxicated or something. I also don't see how people could not like it unless they are simply not understanding or missing very important elements. Definitely could see people not liking the action scenes.. that was the only part that I didn't care much for. But it didn't go so far as to ruin it for me.

NSFW:

For people saying the dream violence was pointless - no it wasn't. It was made clear that under normal circumstances, if you die or the dreamer dies, everybody returns to reality. But if you use a heavy sedative to enter a level 2 (or higher dream), you won't return to reality if you die because the sedative forces you to remain in an uncontrolled dream state (limbo) until the sedative expires. Since time travels exponentially slow, that time spent in limbo will feel like years. This should have hit a lot of people on these forums the hardest. Have you done psychedelics? Have you not experienced a similar phenomenon to this? Living 50 years in a night would be enough to mentally destroy most human beings. It's almost worse than death. So the violence was very significant and very threatening. Especially the further they went. Every step they took I looked at the ante as increasing exponentially. You weren't just talking about death, you were talking about solitary confinement til insanity.

As for the ending. Arguments could be made for the team succeeding and Cobb returning to reality with his issues fixed or for Cobb still existing in a dream. I think the stronger argument lands on the reality side for many reasons but I think the more important thing is - does it matter? The movie's ultimate point is that Cobb had implanted the idea into Mal's head that reality isn't real and suicide is the only escape. That drove her to kill herself back to reality and then out of reality. Cobb's scene where he's spinning the top and holding his gun showed that his idea had gone from infecting Mal to infecting himself. He could never trust if the world he was in was 'real.' But in the end he spins his totem and walks away. To his children. It didn't matter if it was real or not, he had them - and that's the point of the film. (aside from the already mentioned bit about how its basically a huge therapy session but I also really enjoyed that part as well)

I found the conclusion to be dark but also uplifting. It is a conclusion I reached myself about life and the one I have embraced. The movie for me was a reflection of a personal struggle I had for many years. I doubted the realness of reality and contemplated suicide because the idea had infected me and grown deeper and deeper. Until I could find a reason to live for and set aside my doubts, the idea just sat in the back of my mind and at all times I felt like I was Cobb, watching the top spin and holding a gun. By finding a reason to live I got to not only put down the gun but walk away from the top.

Anyway that's what I got out of it. I found the deeper psychological lessons and explorations to be the most profound part of the entire film. The rest was just icing on the cake..

 

[grimble crumble]

NSFW:

This should have hit a lot of people on these forums the hardest. Have you done psychedelics? Have you not experienced a similar phenomenon to this? Living 50 years in a night would be enough to mentally destroy most human beings. It's almost worse than death. So the violence was very significant and very threatening. Especially the further they went. Every step they took I looked at the ante as increasing exponentially. You weren't just talking about death, you were talking about solitary confinement til insanity.

qft

 

[His Name Is Frank]

I don't think this has been posted here:

Spoiler: Inception

 

[drug-strugler617]

i smoked a joint and saw this movie ...i thought it was very well done , it really bkw my mind , best movie i seen in awhile!

 

[o24742o]

ok so i just saw the movie "Inception"

i have to say that i was fucking shocked. i know i'm prolly one of the last people to see this movie but jesus.

is it just me did the movie use alot of drug related themes? i mean they were talking about the first dream, the second dream "dream within a dream" the third dream"dream within a dream within a dream" and of course the 4th dream

the 4th dream totally reminded me of the 4th plateau!!! there is no concept of time in either case, the "dreamer" or "user" can live a whole lifetime and wake up like nothing happened.

hey maybe i'm just a junkie who looks too much into shit, but the part about where his wife was convinced that the real world was actually a dream and the dream world was the real world....

that is fucked up and a common theme among certain types of drug abusers: LSD, ketamine, etc.

am i the only one who saw that correlation?

 

[Jabberwocky]

moving over to F&T

 

[SDforever420]

this the movie with Matt Damon and Morgan Freemen? If so i saw this in theaters and wallk out half way threw it. The only movie i have ever walked out on