Happy Atheist Forum

Did anybody see this movie? ... and understand it?  

[spoiler:378v93td]I have several theories but all of them involve technical holes in the plot. Either that's the case and Nolan didn't think things all the way through, or I'm missing something...
There's no way Cobb actually got back to reality though, right? He missed all the kicks! But then again he wouldn't be sleeping forever. It would only feel like forever. Right?! So maybe the final scene really did happen, it just leaves out the specifics of what he went through in limbo.[/spoiler:378v93td]

I haven't seen the film, or read your spoiler, but one of my friends saw it, and despite him being a very clever chap, he didn't understand it either.

I'm going to see it in about an hour. I didn't click the spoiler, but really wanted to. It was tough to not.

I'll report back my findings. Myself and my homie feel we are two of the smartest people we know, and regularly are frustrated by that fact, so we'll see.  

I heard it is a total mindf**k though.

Hismikeness

It will mess with your mind. You have to pay very close attention the entire way through. Even then you'll probably need to see it a second time, which I plan on doing. Nonetheless it's a very enjoyable film.

I don't know. But the first thing that was said when we got out was:
[spoiler:306i2qvk]Well, that's what I feel like when I dream.[/spoiler:306i2qvk]
Totally rewatchable. In fact, I'm seeing it again Monday with my wife.

Quote from: "hismikeness"I don't know. But the first thing that was said when we got out was:
[spoiler:bpbxraj6]Well, that's what I feel like when I dream.[/spoiler:bpbxraj6]
Totally rewatchable. In fact, I'm seeing it again Monday with my wife.

Ha ha... [spoiler:bpbxraj6]The crowd I was with was very into it emotionally, chanting for the pin to "fall... fall...". Someone mentioned that if we would have stayed long enough after the credits they may have cut back to the pin to show it fall down. I doubt it though.[/spoiler:bpbxraj6]

Saw it last night. I really liked it. I knew it was going to be really hard to "understand" so I went in with the goal of just enjoying it and being entertained. I was totally engrossed in it and walked out with a "wow!" expression on my face.

I got very lost in the dreams and gave up trying to figure too much out. I knew that a second or third viewing would take care of that. It is an excellent movie, and in my own opinion, more visually satisfying than a certain recent "epic" film (which did not live up to its Oscar predictions).

As for the ending:
[spoiler:2sb2k8yb]Sorry, the real spoiler is below this one. Only open it if you really want to know what happened![/spoiler:2sb2k8yb][spoiler:2sb2k8yb]Nope, not here either. It's one more level down![/spoiler:2sb2k8yb][spoiler:2sb2k8yb]Don't bother waiting for something after the end credits. There is no cut back to the movie, but the music that plays at the last 15 seconds or so of the last credits is the music that they used to cue the "kick" in the film.[/spoiler:2sb2k8yb]

Quote from: "Sophus"Ha ha... [spoiler:zer9ncc6]The crowd I was with was very into it emotionally, chanting for the pin to "fall... fall...". Someone mentioned that if we would have stayed long enough after the credits they may have cut back to the pin to show it fall down. I doubt it though.[/spoiler:zer9ncc6]

[spoiler:zer9ncc6]We had a few people go "aww" at the end. I chuckled a little. It was wobbly a little bit.

From McQ's spoiler tab:

QuoteThere is no cut back to the movie, but the music that plays at the last 15 seconds or so of the last credits is the music that they used to cue the "kick" in the film.

Maybe a sequel planned?

I can't wait to see it again. But I was more visually wowed by 3D Avatar this year. This was a waaaay better movie though.[/spoiler:zer9ncc6]

Quote from: "McQ"[spoiler:3trv0z71]Don't bother waiting for something after the end credits. There is no cut back to the movie, but the music that plays at the last 15 seconds or so of the last credits is the music that they used to cue the "kick" in the film.[/spoiler:3trv0z71]

Hmm... Given that bit of information, here is my new theory:

[spoiler:3trv0z71]Christopher Nolan simply likes messing with our heads.[/spoiler:3trv0z71]

Quote from: "hismikeness"[spoiler:3trv0z71]We had a few people go "aww" at the end. I chuckled a little. It was wobbly a little bit.[/spoiler:3trv0z71]

[spoiler:3trv0z71]Indeed it was but it seem to sort of straighten itself out and then wabble some more. Then so and and so on. I don't know if that is meant as a clue or if it was just taken for artistic purposes, you know?[/spoiler:3trv0z71]

Another question would be...
[spoiler:3trv0z71]How did his wife end up in limbo after he shot her and Fischer? None of the other deceased projections went.[/spoiler:3trv0z71]

Ah, okay I figured it out. You just have to remember one very important thing that occurs about halfway through the movie.

Quote from: "Sophus":idea: Ah, okay I figured it out. You just have to remember one very important thing that occurs about halfway through the movie.

I saw it again last night with my wife. I thought I understood it better, but when I tried to explain my conclusions to her I realized I still don't fully get it. But I have a better understanding, and I followed the "levels" a lot easier this time.

What is this thing you must remember? Here's one thing that I noticed last night:
[spoiler:3o18biak]At the end, when Cobb meets up with the old man, as a sort of flashback to the beginning, everyone else rode the kicks up the levels to awaken on the airplane, but he stayed down in the "pure sub-conscience". But then, he just happened to skip from 4 or 5 levels down to awake on the plane. How's that work?[/spoiler:3o18biak]

I've seen this movie twice it is definitely my favorite movie this year.

Quote from: "hismikeness"[I saw it again last night with my wife. I thought I understood it better, but when I tried to explain my conclusions to her I realized I still don't fully get it. But I have a better understanding, and I followed the "levels" a lot easier this time.

What is this thing you must remember? Here's one thing that I noticed last night:
[spoiler:1qtq7svw]At the end, when Cobb meets up with the old man, as a sort of flashback to the beginning, everyone else rode the kicks up the levels to awaken on the airplane, but he stayed down in the "pure sub-conscience". But then, he just happened to skip from 4 or 5 levels down to awake on the plane. How's that work?[/spoiler:1qtq7svw]

Okay, here comes the super duper spoiler...  

[spoiler:1qtq7svw]Limbo is different from dreams because there is no host. It just is; all on its own. We know this because all of the buildings Mal and Cobb made were still there when they returned, only aging and crumbling. The most important thing to remember is that they never planned on limbo. Many of the characters didn't even quite know what it was. They only wanted to make sure that they were able to deliver a kick to each person in each dream, so as to insure they aren't abandoned there in whichever dream left with no other options but to wait it out or kill yourself (remember dying still hurts in dreams). Thus it was actually a good thing for Cobb and the Asian business man (I forget his name - Saito?) that all the dreams were no longer existing because this meant there were no more upper levels for them to climb through. This works and only works because limbo was never part of the plan until they accidentally lose Fischer due to Mal's shot.[/spoiler:1qtq7svw]

I saw it once and would still need to see it once or twice more to really understand some things, but after reading some articles and blogs discussing the ending, I had kind of an epiphany (perhaps) about that and the general meaning.

Perhaps the Penrose staircase can be taken as a symbol for the general theme of the movie. Interestingly, taking this into account with the ending (if the top doesn't stop spinning) kind of makes the film border on being a horror movie (psychologically). Originally Chris Nolan did write it as a horror film before revising it as a heist film (however, I have no idea what type of "horror" took place in the original draft, so whether or not this has any relevance to my interpretation of the film is a mystery).

On a side note, I thought it was kind of funny to watch a movie about shared dreaming in a theater, since the experience of watching a film in a theater is in itself like a shared dream.

And on a sidier note, the film was one of the most thrilling movie going experiences I've had in years. Loved it.

EDIT: Oh, btw, did anyone else enjoy the part when Cobb makes it known that if they are killed they could go into potentially infinite limbo (because of the sedative). I thought that was great because it added an element of fear and tension that was lacking, since up until then getting killed just meant waking back up, so failing their mission/Cobb going to jail was the only real consequence. So not only did that piece of information add some "bite" to a character getting killed, but it was actually even more disturbing than plain old regular death...Cobb basically put their "souls" at risk of "eternal damnation"!

Wow. Saw it a few hours ago. Definitely instant classic. Absolutely brilliant movie.
Came in here, wrote a long summary of what I thought happened (on my iPod touch cause my computer is in another town), checked it a couple times to make sure my thoughts came across as clear as I could make them come across, go to hit send, and the browser goes and closes on me. I spent like a damn half hour on the thing and lost it.

Note to self: when on iPod writing long post, do it in notepad, then copy/paste to forum. Idiot.

I finally saw it last night with a few mates. I absolutely loved it. Whoever did the casting needs a bloody firm handshake. Every single character was spot on. It is also great to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt getting the roles he so rightly deserves now. I think he's a fantastic actor.

Certainly my favourite film of the year (although i've yet to see Toy Story 3).