165 Unique Guild Members 109 Level 80 characters 401 Website/Forum Members 23 Posts in 24 hours 91 Posts in 7 days 73247 Total Posts Karrmerx is the last poster
165 Unique Guild Members 109 Level 80 characters 401 Website/Forum Members 23 Posts in 24 hours 91 Posts in 7 days 73247 Total Posts Karrmerx is the last poster
(click to show spoiler)A lot of people seem to be debating whether or not he is in reality or a dream world in the end. Maybe Nolan had in mind whether or not it was all a dream, I guess probably he did. I think the reason we never see the top fall is because to the character it no longer matters. When he sees his children again he stops needing reassurance and just accepts this reality with them.
(click to show spoiler)Interesting note on the name of Ellen Page's character... Ariadne was a character in greek mythology.
From wikapedia:
Theseus, a young man who volunteered to come and kill the Minotaur. Ariadne fell in love at first sight, and helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of red fleece thread that she was spinning, so that he could find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth.
(click to show spoiler)A lot of people seem to be debating whether or not he is in reality or a dream world in the end. Maybe Nolan had in mind whether or not it was all a dream, I guess probably he did. I think the reason we never see the top fall is because to the character it no longer matters. When he sees his children again he stops needing reassurance and just accepts this reality with them.
I would agree with this, I also believe that the movie is intentionally and meticulously ambiguous. Personally, my opinion based on Nolan's track record of endings is (click to show spoiler)that Cobb is still dreaming.
Nolan's protagonists are always obsessed with a specific goal, and they always achieve this goal, but at great cost to themselves. I know it's not fair to judge a film by the director's other films, but I think that theme works pretty well here. Just my personal opinion, it seems that there's enough evidence in this film to back up both ways of thinking
I've only seen it once though and need to see it again before making up my mind, although I'm pretty certain the ending will still remain ambiguous no matter how many viewings I go though. The scene that stuck with me about how to approach this film was in the very beginning, when Ken Watanabe's character is thrown to the ground, and only then upon closer inspection with his surroundings, does he realize that he's still dreaming. It's as if Nolan himself was telling the audience don't believe everything you see, and make sure you pay close attention to the details.
(click to show spoiler)I need to watch it again too, but either way those types of endings annoy me. Commit to something, otherwise it just feels like its ambiguous for no purpose other than fear of disappointing people.
I just pretend the top fell and enjoy what was an intense Matrix-esque action film. Cleverly made, great acting, JGL always gives me a boner, Ellen Page wasn't annoying. Good times.
(click to show spoiler)I need to watch it again too, but either way those types of endings annoy me. Commit to something, otherwise it just feels like its ambiguous for no purpose other than fear of disappointing people.
I just pretend the top fell and enjoy what was an intense Matrix-esque action film. Cleverly made, great acting, JGL always gives me a boner, Ellen Page wasn't annoying. Good times.
(click to show spoiler)Repeating my earlier post, I think people are looking at the wrong thing. Just because we never see the top fall doesn't mean there's not a resolution. There most definitely is.
The name of Ellen Page's character seems to back this up. Regardless of how this is done her character helped lead him out of the maze. He no longer is trapped by guilt and is ready to accept whatever reality he is in. It's a huge step forward for the character and an end to his story.
People have been asking why Cobb didn't have his own totem - why was he using his wife's top? I believe the top was a red herring.
Cobb's totem was the faces of his children. Think about it. We never saw them in any dream. He purposely looked away when Mal tried to show them to him.
So at the end when he finally saw their faces he knew he was in prime reality and the spinning top didn't matter. "
(click to show spoiler)I've also thought about that. However when the purpose of totem was initially explained, did they not say it had to be something physical and unique to only that person and can not be touched by anyone else?
Arthur showed Ariadne his loaded dice but did not let her touch it. Ariadne showed Cobb her pawn but also can not let Cobb touch it. Cobb on the other hand was using his wife's totem. And a few other sequence in the movie it was touched by Saito too so his totem can not be reliable anymore.
In any which, I agree with Aaron. The ending does not matter. It's a dream and with our dreams it's what we make of it.
(click to show spoiler)Just like real life, we only remember the middle of it (present) not how we got here birth (beginning of the dream) and won't even know when the kick hits (death).
I really liked this movie and I agree with Fries kind of. But also with Ryan cause those types of endings bother me.
However his children hadn't aged yet and still had the EXACT same hair cuts, and it's obviously very apparently that years have passed since he last saw his kids.
However his children hadn't aged yet and still had the EXACT same hair cuts, and it's obviously very apparently that years have passed since he last saw his kids.
Just sayin, no xprt.
(click to show spoiler) I think their faces were for sure an important part of the film. The question is whether he just didn't want to see their faces in a dream because he didn't want to get lost in a dream world and confuse it for reality.
To me, it seems like a stretch to think no one else knows what his kids faces look like to be able to act as them in a dream. And if Cobb is the dreamer himself, he's the one that populates the dream world so in those dreams for sure he could see their faces.
Again though, I agree that in some sense their faces are very important. He refuses to look at them in limbo when Mal tries to get him to, and it's a big deal when he finally sees them at the end.
However, for something to be a totem you don't need to hide what it looks like. Only how it acts (the weighted die). Is it possible there is some clue in the behavior in the children that immediately told him these are really his children?
Yeah, they looked the same and were in the same pose as they were in his memories. I've heard that their clothes while looking similar are actually slightly different in the end scene. Also looking at the casting (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/fullcredits#cast) you can see that they actually used sisters to play his daughter, aged 2 years apart. So at some point the actress we're seeing as his daughter IS 2 years older. The son's two actors also have a 2 year age difference. Point being it's very possible the scenes actually are entirely different, but designed (because it's a dream or because it's not?) to look exactly the same.
However his children hadn't aged yet and still had the EXACT same hair cuts, and it's obviously very apparently that years have passed since he last saw his kids.
Just sayin, no xprt.
(click to show spoiler) I think their faces were for sure an important part of the film. The question is whether he just didn't want to see their faces in a dream because he didn't want to get lost in a dream world and confuse it for reality.
To me, it seems like a stretch to think no one else knows what his kids faces look like to be able to act as them in a dream. And if Cobb is the dreamer himself, he's the one that populates the dream world so in those dreams for sure he could see their faces.
Again though, I agree that in some sense their faces are very important. He refuses to look at them in limbo when Mal tries to get him to, and it's a big deal when he finally sees them at the end.
However, for something to be a totem you don't need to hide what it looks like. Only how it acts (the weighted die). Is it possible there is some clue in the behavior in the children that immediately told him these are really his children?
Yeah, they looked the same and were in the same pose as they were in his memories. I've heard that their clothes while looking similar are actually slightly different in the end scene. Also looking at the casting (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/fullcredits#cast) you can see that they actually used sisters to play his daughter, aged 2 years apart. So at some point the actress we're seeing as his daughter IS 2 years older. The son's two actors also have a 2 year age difference. Point being it's very possible the scenes actually are entirely different, but designed (because it's a dream or because it's not?) to look exactly the same.
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