Interpretation Of The Ending

This 2010 contemporary sci-fi actioner follows a subconscious security team around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams.
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The train set them both in to limbo. Mal realized they were in limbo still and killed herself to get out hoping Cobb would do the same. Mal is Ari using her father M. Caine (the best extractor Cobb stated) to set the stage for inception in Cobb's mind as he no longer trusted Mal. The only way to get out is to kill yourself (Ari tried to get Cobb to jump with her at the end, and presumably siato attempted to get him to do it with their suicide pact) and Cobb yet again remained in limbo as he followed his father in law to his house where his two children where wearing the same clothes and looked the same as they always had in his subconscious. The top indicated that and I think only slightly wobbled to stir up all the talk.

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Jumpman wrote:Actually folks, the ending (the final shot) doesn't really matter. It's the journey that's ultimately the most important part.

Nolan has a very creative way with dealing with a simple narrative concept such as one dealing with guilt and learning to forgive themselves...because that's ultimately Inception. That's the film we all saw. Whether real or not the ending, it just doesn't matter. What matters is Cobb's internal resolution.

In cinematic terms, the ending is one last jab by Nolan to the audience to question themselves. Nolan performed Inception on the audience with that last shot. It's utterly brilliant.
While I mostly agree with you, whether he stayed in the dream or not impacts the nature of his character.

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zexy wrote:
The key to waking out of Limbo is realizing that you are in a fake world and you want to get out. That was the whole point of Cobb using Inception on his wife otherwise he would have just killed her and woken her up.
Good catch. I always wondered why Cobbs didn't just shoot Mal. However which is the part where it was said that you have to realize you're in a fake world and want to get out? I always thought Saito and Cobbs would always be able to get out of Limbo when the drug wears off.

I think the idea of limbo is abit confusing. Mal and Cobbs explored extremely deep into their minds, till they reached the edge of their subconscious but i don't think they were ever in "limbo". However Saito was trapped at the edge of his subconscious because he died in the dreams; therefore he was in the state of "limbo".
Cobb states that he has been in limbo previously towards the start of the movie.

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drbarke wrote:
zexy wrote:
The key to waking out of Limbo is realizing that you are in a fake world and you want to get out. That was the whole point of Cobb using Inception on his wife otherwise he would have just killed her and woken her up.
Good catch. I always wondered why Cobbs didn't just shoot Mal. However which is the part where it was said that you have to realize you're in a fake world and want to get out? I always thought Saito and Cobbs would always be able to get out of Limbo when the drug wears off.

I think the idea of limbo is abit confusing. Mal and Cobbs explored extremely deep into their minds, till they reached the edge of their subconscious but i don't think they were ever in "limbo". However Saito was trapped at the edge of his subconscious because he died in the dreams; therefore he was in the state of "limbo".
Cobb states that he has been in limbo previously towards the start of the movie.
I know... his final decision impacts the nature of his character's growth.

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Actually, it doesn't. No matter how you slice it, Dom's free. Remember, the only way he can dream is through the dream machine. But because he confronted his guilt, his mind is free...giving the possibility that he can now dream on his own.

Everything in the film is "reality" in some form or another. The final moments are Dom's dream. But the very last shot is all Inception by Nolan to the audience. He planted an idea to the audience to question everything...EVERYTHING we just witnessed.

What's the most resilient parasite? An idea.

Nolan has gotten us to run with this idea everywhere and to everyone.

The ending is almost too brilliant.

I'm just stunning that WB greenlit this movie. The Matrix is child's play compared to this thing.

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Jumpman wrote:Actually, it doesn't. No matter how you slice it, Dom's free. Remember, the only way he can dream is through the dream machine. But because he confronted his guilt, his mind is free...giving the possibility that he can now dream on his own.

Everything in the film is "reality" in some form or another. The final moments are Dom's dream. But the very last shot is all Inception by Nolan to the audience. He planted an idea to the audience to question everything...EVERYTHING we just witnessed.

What's the most resilient parasite? An idea.

Nolan has gotten us to run with this idea everywhere and to everyone.

The ending is almost too brilliant.

I'm just stunning that WB greenlit this movie. The Matrix is child's play compared to this thing.
yea, just as we thought we figured out, in the end the movie just like saying: "well, you sure about that? think again"

and it just spreads in our brain.... :wtf:

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Dan_87 wrote:
Jumpman wrote:Actually, it doesn't. No matter how you slice it, Dom's free. Remember, the only way he can dream is through the dream machine. But because he confronted his guilt, his mind is free...giving the possibility that he can now dream on his own.

Everything in the film is "reality" in some form or another. The final moments are Dom's dream. But the very last shot is all Inception by Nolan to the audience. He planted an idea to the audience to question everything...EVERYTHING we just witnessed.

What's the most resilient parasite? An idea.

Nolan has gotten us to run with this idea everywhere and to everyone.

The ending is almost too brilliant.

I'm just stunning that WB greenlit this movie. The Matrix is child's play compared to this thing.
yea, just as we thought we figured out, in the end the movie just like saying: "well, you sure about that? think again"

and it just spreads in our brain.... :wtf:
I'm not dismissing anything you've said other than the last bit being a dream. The very last shot... one of Cobb's internal arcs throughout the film was his perspective on reality and how he desired to live in the real world. This is the catalyst of rising tension during the Mal scene at the end trying to convince him to stay. He's trying to embrace reality. Whether he does or not I think is extremely significant to Cobb.

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Oh, I think you're right. Still, the age of the kids does question your theory as well as the last shot. But, again, I still don't think it even matters, the ending. What matters is what Dom's journey and resolution. In his mind, in his soul, he made it home.

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Is there a possibility that Cobb and Mal were still in a dream state when the were on the ledge? Therefore Mal getting out of that level, and Cobb staying in the dream forever?

I say this because Mal says let's take a leap of faith, but so does Saito.

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Well this is my interpretation of the film - I posted this on another thread and had no response so I'll try again and see if anyone agrees/disagrees:

To me it was a really complex film. People have been comparing it to the Matrix because of the way it deals with reality, but I thought the meaning was more psychological and earthbound than the more esoteric philosophy of that film. I think it was a film about how we construct our lives mentally, I think that Cobb and Mal's perfect imagined world was a metaphor for how we try and find happiness sometimes by lying to ourselves about the stability of our lives, emotionally and in terms of mortality (waiting for a train) and the fallout is examining what happens when the illusion shatters. In Inception Cobb's reality quite literally shatters. He is displaced, separated from his family by guilt and death, persecuted by his own mind. In the end he is happy since he lets go of his past and learns to live with uncertainty - its may or may not still a lie but he understands that and can be happy. I thought in some ways it was closer to Synedoche New York than The Matrix.

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