INCEPTION

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INCEPTION

Forgiveness

Cobb

Cobb needs to forgive himself at the end of the movie to get rid of the guilt he possesses which haunts hima long with the memory of his deceased wife, Mal. To finish Inception he has to face his greatest fear and conquer it - moving on

Mal - 'You remember when you asked me to marry you?' Dom Cobb: 'Yes.' Mal - 'You said you dreamt that we'd grow old together.' Dom Cobb - 'But we did. We did, you don't remember. I miss you more than I could bare, but we had our time together and I have to let you go. I have to let you go.'

This symbolises forgiveness as Cobb is able to forgive himself for the suffering he put Mal through and then her for her insanity and hatred of life

Rebirth

Phillipa and James

Phillipa and James are Cobb's children. Phillipa is the oldest of the two with James only being three upon reuniting with his father. James and Phillipa are Cobb's motivation to partake in Inception after he is promised the chance to see them again, should he suceed. Their youth and constant appearance in Cobbs mind symbolises rebirth or ressurection, in which Cobb has to get through after returning to reality

Miles- 'Look who's here?' James and Phillipa - 'Daddy!' James- 'It's you!'

Seeing his children again evokes the symbolism of rebirth as Cobb is able to live his old life again as a better man

Redemption

Miles

Miles is Cobbs stepfather and is the one who taught him how to navigate minds. Miles is Cobbs only connection to his children, which brings upon the theme of redemption. He believes getting back to his children will be his way of redeeming himself after his wife's death

Miles - 'Come back to reality, Dom. Please.' Dom Cobb - 'Reality? Those kids, your grandchildren, they're waiting for their father to come back home. That's their reality. And this job, this last job, that's how I get there. I would not be standing here if I knew any other way. I need an architect who is as good as I was.' Miles - 'I've got somebody better.'

Redemption links to this quote as it clearly shows the remorse Miles feels for Cobb, and the way he wants him to come back to reality and find another way to see his children

Guilt

Mallorie

Mallorie is Cobb's deceased wife. Mallorie commits suicide, which fills Cobb's head with guilt and remorse upon thinking about her. She now haunts Cobb as a projection from his mind, virtually feeding off the guilt he feels for her and using it to her advantage

Mal - 'I'm free from the guilt of choosing to leave them. We are going home to our real children.' Mal - 'You're waitng for a train.' Dom Cobb - 'MAL...GODDAMIT DON'T DO THIS!' Mal - 'A train that will take you far away.' Dom Cobb - 'JAMES AND PHILLIPA ARE WAITNG FOR US!' Mal - 'You know where you hope this train will take you...' Dom Cobb - 'THEY'RE WAITNG FOR US.' Mal - '...but you don't know for sure...' Dom Cobb - 'MAL, LOOK AT ME!' Mal - '...but it doesn't matter...' Dom Cobb - 'MAL, GODDAMIT!' Mal - '...because we'll be together.' Dom Cobb - 'SWEETHEART LOOK AT ME!' Dom Cobb - 'MAL, DON'T! JESUS CHRIST!'

This quote is the moment Mal commits suicide and creates the theme of guilt in Cobb; this haunts him for the rest of the film until he faces his Mal and his guilt

Cause and Effect

Robert Fischer

Robert Fischer is the son of Maurice Fischer, the owner of a major overseas corporation. Robert appears to be insecure and nervous, as he stutters on his words and always appears to be on edge. Following the death of his father, he feels feeble having the painful words of his father hover over his conscience. Planting the idea in this subject grows and develops the theme of cause and effect

Maurice Fischer - 'I was dissa...dissapoi...' Robert Fischer - 'I know dad. I know you were disappointed I couldn't be you.' Maurice Fischer - 'No...no...no..no! I was disappointed that you tried.'

This quote is relevant to cause and effect as it represents the result in the seed of the idea be planted in Robert Fischer's mind and growing into an obssession, which also causes the success of the mission and Cobb's ticket home

Dream VS Reality

Yusuf

Yusuf owns a den in which people dream to get away from reality as he makes concoctions to keep them asleep - which creates dream vs. reality, which is of course the main theme of this film

Saito - 'Why do they do it?' Yusuf - 'Tell him, Mr. Cobb.' Dom Cobb - 'After a while it becomes the only way you can dream.' Yusuf - 'Do you still dream, Mr. Cobb?' Eames -'They come here everyday to sleep?' Elderly man - 'No. They come to be woken up. The dream has become their reality. Who are you to say otherwise'

Dream vs. reality is deeply battled in this film, there are many people who become so wrapped up in their dream that they think of it as reality, this quote reinforces this message

Desire

Saito

Saito has the desire to get on top and dissolve the oppositions empire, he ends up in limbo, in which his empire is built and he is the ruler - bringing about his dream

Saito - 'Have you come to kill me? I'm waiting for someone.' Dom Cobb - 'Someone from a half-remembered dream.' Saito - 'Cobb? Impossible. We were young men together. I'm an old man.' Dom Cobb - 'Filled with regret...' Saito -'...waiting to die alone.' Dom Cobb - 'I've come back for you, to remind you of something. Something you once knew, that this world is not real.'

Saito brings about his desires by being lost in limbo after being killed in Inception, through this quote however, his desires are described as a negative rather than what he really wanted

Life's a Gamble

Eames

Eames is an important part in Cobb's missions. He has the ability to project or take the form of anyone he wants in the dream state, making him the spine of their affairs. Eames is a gambler and brings the theme of chance into this movie as he describes Inception is possible but has a chance of going wrong

Dom Cobb - 'Inception, now before you bother telling me it's impossible...' Eames - 'No, it's prefectly possible. It's just bloody difficult.'

Inception is based on the chance it will be successful, therefore bringing in the theme of life's a gamble, in the difficulty explained by Eames

Avoidance is Not a Solution

Ariadne

Ariadne is Cobb's new architect, having been referred to him by Mal's father. At first Ariadne appears to be afraid and refuses to help Cobb, realising their mission is against the law. After being in the dream state however, she feels compelled to go back and help him with his mission. Ariadne attempts to convince Cobb to fix his guilt (Mal)or tell someone about it (Arthur), but Cobb feels if he just avoids it, it will resolve - bringing upon the theme of 'avoidance is not the solution'

Dom Cobb - 'In case one of us brings in our projections. We don't want them knowing the details of the maze.' Ariadne - 'You mean in case you bring Mal in. You can't keep her out can you?' Dom Cobb - 'Right.' Ariadne - 'You can't build because if you know the maze then she knows it. She'd sabotage the whole operation. Cobb, do the others know?' Dom Cobb - 'No, they don't.' Ariadne - 'You godda warn them if this is getting worse'

Avoidance is not the solution reflects this quote as Ariadne explains to Cobb, if he avoids Mal, she will become more powerful

Trust

Arthur

Arthur appears to be Cobbs closest companion, although Cobb is not comfortable with telling Arthur about Mal invading and sabotaging the team's jobs (extraction work). Arthur is the logical thinker in the group, always ensuring that a mission is safe prior to taking part in it, researching background information on the subject and collecting all the data he would need to suceed.

Arthur - 'Hey, are you okay?' Dom Cobb - 'Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Why?' Arthur - 'Well down at the dream, Mal showing up' Dom Cobb - 'Uh, come on. I'm sorry about your leg. It won't happen again.' Arthur - 'It's getting worse isn't it?' Dom Cobb - 'One apology is all you're getting. Alright, Arthur?'

Even though Arthur is Cobbs close companion, this quote represents the distrust Cobb has towards Arthur in the delicate matter of Mal; this displays Cobb's fragile state in opening up to people, which is ironic since he navigates other's minds