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mnjacks
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Inception (2010)
Unique cinematic gem-a discussion of the paradox of the movie
This review is not so much a review but rather an attempt to understand the threads of the movie. It is by no means authoritative and all encompassing.
The movie lays out many clues for the viewer. Particularly the notion that an "idea" is the most insidious infection. Once an idea has taken root only death can provide a release. Furthermore, some people's realities eventually become a state of constant dreaming. Thus, it is possible for someone to constantly require to dream in order to maintain their grasp on reality.
The next premise that we are introduced to is the notion that "ideas" can be taken from the mind. From that we are introduced to the notion of "inception," or the planting of an idea in the mind. The reason that inception is so difficult is because every idea that the mind has can be traced back to the source. So for most of us, ideas in our head can be traced to someone or something (a speech, a book, a movie...). Powerful ideas are self-created ideas, they can change the world (the movie explores this quite nicely).
The movie takes place in the dream world and in reality. At the end of the movie it seems that Cobb is still in the dream world. But how can that be, he is reunited with his children? My thoughts: 1) We know that Cobb and his wife Mal had managed to get stuck in the final phase of dreaming--pure subconscious. It was in this place that they built a life together of reconstructed memories. Unfortunately over time Cobb had enough and wanted out. Mal did not believe that they were living in a lie.
2) Cobb, in order to get Mal to get out, had to plant the idea in her head that she was dreaming and that this reality was not real. He manages to do so successfully.
3) In the real world Mal commits suicide because of the idea Cobb planted. He cannot forgive himself.
4) The fact that Cobb feels so much guilt about what he did IS THE CENTRAL CRUX OF THE MOVIE. It is this guilt that does not allow him to "see" his children until he forgives himself.
5) The movie also introduces us to the concept of paradox, the infinite loop that can be closed etc. This is a crucial step to understand because what Cobb ultimately seeks to accomplish is a paradox.
6) The movie is truly about Cobb planting an idea in his own head but not tracing it back to himself. He needs to believe that he can forgive himself but not know that he initiated it.
7) Throughout most of the movie, all the characters are PROJECTIONS of his subconscious. Ariadne is perhaps one of the most important projections because through her, he is being guided to his inception seemingly by someone else. She is a manifestation of his subconscious who is in essence helping him realize what he must do. In Greek mythology Ariadne is the Mistress of the Labyrinth, a subtle clue by Nolan.
8) The idea requiring inception, is that "he can return home" to his children. The idea is simple but in order to introduce it Cobb needs to CREATE THE MOST COMPLEX world possible. This is done through the multiple dreams and multiple cast members who are ultimately projections. For evidence that it is a created world, keep in mind the numbers used throughout the last acts. Those numbers appear on the ticket that Cobb is holding. Those numbers may have special significance to Cobb, (perhaps the hotel where his wife committed suicide, the ages of his children, etc).
9) When Mal attacks Cobb with a knife Ariadne shoots her. After which, Cobb let's go of Mal as a memory. Memories are dangerous because they call attention to the dream. By getting rid of Mal Cobb rids himself of evidence that he is dreaming.
10) When Saito makes the phone call and allows Cobb back in the U.S., it is done because Cobb can believe that someone else has taken away the restriction. It was crucial for that to be there even though Cobb at any point could have seen his children.
11) The spinning top does wobble a little bit when Cobb leaves the room. This lends some credibility to the thought that it is "reality," however we do not see the top fall indicating that the whole thing may still be a dream. This seems to be a paradox, Cobb believes this is reality (top wobbles), but this is a dream (top never spins out). Can something be real to someone but still be a dream? Another paradox is discussed next.
12) The movie itself reveals itself to be a paradox because Cobb's character plants an idea in his own head and then must disguise it. It means that over time Cobb figured out a way out from his guilt, it was a spontaneous idea (and quite brilliant). The problem is that he can still trace the idea back to himself. That would mean the guilt would still be there. Thus, the paradox is seemingly unsettled. How can one plant an idea in one's own head without realizing that you planted it there?
13) With respect to the ending/beginning on the beach. Keep in mind, Cobb's children appear but with backs to him on the same beach as his. It is the subconscious world. For proof that this is his dream, ask yourself "how did he get from Mal's house to Saito's?" Cobb just appeared. He "needs" to get Saito to leave because only then can he "see his children." Also the room where Saito is in is built from memory. Cobb admitted that he has a tendency to do this.
Nolan has indeed incepted our minds. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
What Corso represents (a theory about the last engraving)
This is not so much a movie review (those are done well elsewhere), but a theory about the ending of the movie and who Corso really represents.
SPOILER ALERT**** I too have enjoyed reading the posts and have come up with something that I just wanted to throw out there. Corso is a biblical figure--he is the serpent in the ninth engraving. After all Corso experiences each of the engravings on his quest, so logically he would have to experience the ninth engraving as well. Since the woman in the ninth engraving is "The Girl"--who presumably is the Whore of Bablyon (a case will be made later on that the whore=Lucifer), the only person that Corso could be is the beast---which is a subtle but powerful point of the film/book.
The beast in the engraving has 7 heads which could conceivably represent the seven deadly sins--(i) pride (ii) envy (iii) gluttony (iv) lust (v) wrath (vi) greed (vii) sloth--throughout the film Corso commits each one of these sins, but it is done gradually. The point being that while everyone is on the lookout for a "beast" or other terrible creature it could actually just be humanity falling victim to the sins. When Corso kills the man in the cellar the girl exclaims "I didn't think you had it in you." This is what sealed his fate as her chosen one.
Just like "The girl" Polanski puts Corso right out there in front of everyone to see, but we tend to ignore him and focus on the evils committed by Boris and Liana. But those people are not who the devil is interested in, the devil wants people who are consistent and gradual with their sinning. Corso is perfect as this "everyman." Incidentally this is why I think "The Girl" represents Lucifer, because she is out there for everyone to see. All the idiots are busy trying to summon the Devil but she is right there for everyone to see. (refer to diana 51's post somewhere here for more on this, she does a great job as do many others). Just like people are always looking for the sign of the beast or his return--and tend to lose the forest from the trees (i.e. their own sins) Incidentally the "whore of Babylon" symbolism is apt because, just as a whore is a servant, she can become a master. just like the girl in the movie--she "served" Corso at many points but she also made it clear who was boss (i.e. when she twisted his arm after he grabbed her in the hotel lobby and when she held him back from saving Liana from Boris).
More generally Whores are there to offer immediate gratification, but many men have fallen victim to manipulation and have ruined their lives in pursuit of a whore. (This argument is not meant to limit whore to just male/female, a whore presumably offers immediate gratification, thus it is more beneficial to think of a whore as anyone who offers the quick fix--which is the Devil for all intents and purposes). However in order to obtain that quick fix how many of the seven deadly sins must a person commit?Chances are that a few transgressions would normally be in order.
The reason that "The girl"/Lucifer picks Corso out of all the other evil people is because he doesn't commit the sins all at once for the quick fix. He starts out his quest purely for greed, and a long the way commits each sin as he sees fit or just for the hell of it (i.e. sleeping with Liana even though he had no intention of giving her the book; accepting another "zero" to the paycheck even though a friend of his was killed; not caring about getting paid by Boris at the end--he wants the engravings). Finally when he realizes the power that is at stake he is willing to make the ultimate jump to wrath (first he kills the guy in the cellar and then he kills Balkan when on fire). BUT both times he didn't need to kill those people, he could have left Liana's helper knocked out and he could have let Boris burn to death, but he just wanted to kill them out of anger (contrast this to Boris who killed for the pages in the book--and killed Liana so that she would stop bothering him). Gradual decent into evil and darkness is what endeared Corso to Lucifer/"The Girl" and that is why he came to Corso in the form of a woman and helped him along his path. Ultimately you become one with the devil when you commit all seven deadly sins because that is the power that humans have--to choose between good and evil. That is symbolized by the ninth engraving with the woman "riding" the seven deadly sins--and thus unlocking the gate into the Kingdom of Shadows.
(Because the word limit is set at a 1000 for comments, this post is not able to discuss some other interesting points that are brought up by others. There are some who believe that Corso is not evil at all, or rather that he has no choice in his path (i.e. he attempted to save Liana and he shot Boris out of compassion). I attempt to give my take on that in a post located at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142688/board/nest/41792586 (May 4, 2006 @ 11:04), but it's meant to be a complement to this post). Please forgive any repetitions. The variation in interpretations of this movie only reinforce the fact that it is a unique cinematic gem.