Inception

David Jimerson said:
Did he?
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He finished the job Saito has him do. Whether he gets to his kid in real life or in dream is the point, it doesn't matter. He's happy now and released. I think you are too focused on one aspect of the story that you've felt is incomplete without looking at the entirety of the story. To me, the point is, reality didn't matter in this instance to obtain the happiness he wanted. Maybe that doesn't make YOU happy, but that's the point being made. HE found the happiness and release he needed. And, he did it with the completion of the job as well, which he hadn't been able to do before because of his internal dealings with Mal. That's why I think he did his job.
 
What makes you say I'm not focused on the entire story? I don't think it's at all clear he finished the job Saito gave him to do. I don't think anything that happened after he went to limbo is clear. And given that he said over and over his personal mission was to get back to his real kids, the idea that it suddenly doesn't matter to him whether it's real or not is from out of the blue.
 
From his perspective, he's finished the job Saito gave him to do. He thinks he's in the real world and that those are his kids. I like the fact when he wakes up on the plane, we aren't sure what is going on, or what ultimately happening because we see it from the reveal of his perspective. The fact that he thinks it all worked out, and that Saito pulled through and he can be reunited with his kids is the closure of that part of the story, regardless if they are real or not. That is the part that is important.

Obviously he wants his real kids, but would he really know the difference if someone was a master architect more than he is? His father-in-law is there at the end, and we know that he taught him. Coincidence? I think that Cobb is SO focused on the kids and the fact he can see more than just his vision of them means he's lost the ability to determine where he is. But all this to me doesn't matter, because at the end of it, Cobb is happy and relieved of his guilt.

Did you not like Memento either? Just curious because the end of that story leaves a lot open to the mind as well, but for good reason, it fits with the story and the condition.
 
I don't really remember Memento. Saw it a long time ago and haven't revisited. I had no particular feeling for it one way or the other.

And to be clear, I said above that I loved this movie on every level -- except for the last shot.

We don't know if he finished the job or not, though. We don't know if he got to his real kids. We also don't know if he rescued Saito. That's pretty much my point.

(And with all this talk of Saito, let's take a moment to appreciate the awesomeness which is Ken Watanabe.)
 
David Jimerson said:
I don't really remember Memento. Saw it a long time ago and haven't revisited. I had no particular feeling for it one way or the other.

We don't know if he finished the job or not, though. We don't know if he got to his real kids. We also don't know if he rescued Saito. That's pretty much my point.

(And with all this talk of Saito, let's take a moment to appreciate the awesomeness which is Ken Watanabe.)
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Haha, but that is my point as well, it doesn't matter. He thinks he did and he thinks he has his kids so he's happy. That is what makes the main story arc complete for me. (And what makes the film so fascinating from a philosophical level).

(And yes, Ken Watanabe is awesome). :)
 
What does it matter to any of us the emotional resolution in any film? None of it's real. But if the illusion is good enough, it can feel more real than life can. Inception's allegories to filmmaking and the relationship between the creator and perceiver are probably unintentional, but run deep.

At one point, early in the film if I remember correctly, Cobb's top drops. If you count the number of dream levels down and back out again, it's clear that the top would have dropped in the final scene. Nolan, outside of the Batman franchise, just loves ambiguity too much not to have cut to black where he did. Plus, his children weren't wearing the same clothes in the final scene as some have pointed out. Nolan only used similar blocking/framing for that scene as a common narrative technique.

But no, the outcome is never as important as the journey. Cobb had his emotional arc, and it was with his letting go of Mal. His children were his want, letting go of Mal was his need and the subtextual point of the plot.
 
I can agree with David that it's a fantastic looking and sounding blu-ray and great for showcasing your home theater. I noticed nuances in the sound design I hadn't the first time, like that ticking clock noise that comes and goes on the soundtrack. I wonder what that signifies, if anything. Maybe it's the clock next to Cobb's head as he dreams the whole movie...LOL.
 
Inception is my number one movie this year, at least so far, as I haven't yet seen Tron Legacy, Black Swan, or True Grit. Those three all look really good too.

Anyways, I guess I just love that Inception is really just such a well done cerebral action-thriller that revolves around a great premise, and was shot and designed with so much detail? It reminds me of Hitchcock spliced with John Woo, plus a dash of Philip K. Dick mind-foolery, all wrapped up in a way that only Christopher Nolan could have done it. It is a big yet personal film all at the same time.
 
Nektonic said:
Inception is my number one movie this year, at least so far, as I haven't yet seen Tron Legacy, Black Swan, or True Grit. Those three all look really good too.

Anyways, I guess I just love that Inception is really just such a well done cerebral action-thriller that revolves around a great premise, and was shot and designed with so much detail? It reminds me of Hitchcock spliced with John Woo, plus a dash of Philip K. Dick mind-foolery, all wrapped up in a way that only Christopher Nolan could have done it. It is a big yet personal film all at the same time.
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Inception is my number one movie since T2... groundbreaking ! I am inspired.
 
Batutta said:
I can agree with David that it's a fantastic looking and sounding blu-ray and great for showcasing your home theater. I noticed nuances in the sound design I hadn't the first time, like that ticking clock noise that comes and goes on the soundtrack. I wonder what that signifies, if anything. Maybe it's the clock next to Cobb's head as he dreams the whole movie...LOL.
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Come on Batutta we do not need to figure out any more puzzles, damn, we're still trying to figure out the other 40,000 puzzles in this film and here you come with some clock in a soundtrack that could or could not be in Cobb's head....

Now I'm gonna be looking out for a damn clock next time I watch this thing. Thanks. :evil:
 
capitalP said:
Come on Batutta we do not need to figure out any more puzzles, damn, we're still trying to figure out the other 40,000 puzzles in this film and here you come with some clock in a soundtrack that could or could not be in Cobb's head....

Now I'm gonna be looking out for a damn clock next time I watch this thing. Thanks. :evil:
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I can't tell if it's the sound design or the music, but it's definitely there.
 
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