Christopher Nolan is the type of director that likes to push the limits of the human mind. Enter Inception, a film about the depth and complicated function of dreams.
Dreams are something that is a part of the human mind, and sometimes we don’t pay that much attention to them. Dreams are just considered to be some of the mind’s deepest desires and that is pretty much where the conversation ends.
Christopher Nolan’s Inception follows a group of men, led by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Dom Cobb, who perform corporate espionage using an experimental military technology to infiltrate the subconscious of their targets and extract valuable information through a shared dream world. Needless to say, they are all wanted criminals.
Dom and his team, composed of Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt), Ariadne (Ellen Page), and Eames (Tom Hardy), are recruited by Saito (Ken Watanabe) to do the impossible: perform an inception. What this means is that they need to implant an idea into someone else’s mind. Saito wants them to do the inception to Robert Fischer, the head of his rival company so that he decides to dismantle the company and Saito can come out victorious.
This film is a visual masterpiece, something the 2011 Academy Awards recognized by awarding it the awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects. The visual aspect is perfectly complemented by the complex and intriguing storyline and impeccable acting by the talented cast. It might be Christopher Nolan’s best film to date. He’s made more films since Inception, like Interstellar and Dunkirk, but Inception has managed to stand out the most despite the former also winning the Academy Awards for Visual Effects.
Inception is my favorite film ever. It is complex, it is beautiful, and it makes you think. It pushed boundaries, and you realize that the mind is truly a powerful weapon that can bring both harm and good. It is an original idea, and it made way for a new method of filmmaking as Christopher Nolan used both CGI and handmade sets to make this film instead of doing completely with CGI. The score, composed by Hans Zimmer, was also revolutionary in terms of the risks it took. Give it a listen and you’ll understand.
This film is completely worth the watch and worth the arguments, discussions, and rants about the ending. It is a conversation I am always open to.
Picture Credits: IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, GIF