Inception

Initial Thoughts

My first thoughts on Inception is very challenging to watch in the way that you have to devote 100% attention to each scene to understand the very complex multiple narratives, most people just say "it is very confusing" and "i don't understand" and never give much thought of it, all aside once you engage into it i think its a truly fascinatingly good film. The fact it has outstanding actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine star in this film makes it even more intriguing to watch. The VFX in this film are used amazingly, the way they get the zero gravity corridor in the hotel, every scene uses VFX so well you cant tell they have been used. In conclusion I find this film deeply fascinating and increasingly engaging. The film must seem confusing as there is this dream walking theory, and dream manipulation theory, at this day in age we have very little research to prove it wrong or right, so there is very biased opinions on wether is becomes a sci-fi film or a realistic film we have yet to discover, it is most certainly a horror film, and possibly an action film, we almost get this heist them in the way that they have this mission to retrieve private information without anyone knowing, at the end of the film all of the characters look at each other as if they don't know each other. This broadness of genres can make the film more popular as they are very likened genres.

End Sequence

Camerawork in the ending scene is very closely intense shots, to create this wall of emotions that they have completed what they need to and can finally lead there normal lives again, we see tracking shot to  create a feeling that we are walking along side them through this stage of the film.
The end scene has very small hint of a heist film as once they all complete what the extraction they all blindly acknowledge each other in the luggage area of the airport, no body knows they have been working together. The ending on this film is very ambiguous and uncertain, in the way that nothing is said between the group of what happens next, but most certainly when Cobb finally goes back to see his kids, we see their faces which tells us he is in reality but just before this he spins his totem and it carried on spinning, we do not see it fall suggesting he is still dreaming.

Emotional Responses

The first thing that creates arousal response is the good looks of each character mainly Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page, whom females and even males flock to see at the cinema. We get a feeling of sadness when Cobb's wife Mal commits suicide. We get shock when we first see the dream sequence when Cobb and Ariadne are sat drinking coffee on a street in Paris and Ariadne realises that she is in a dream, and all the vegetable stalls blow up, windows smash, chair and tables explode, when she makes the earth completely lift up and break the laws of physics and make the ground fold over, when she erects a bridge in seconds, and she uses to parallel mirrors and smash's them to make those infinite reflections a real bridge over the river, from all of this we get our first emotion of shock. Most importantly we get a very pessimistic emotion when the centre of attention is directed to Leonardo DiCaprio's character but then almost out of nowhere as Ellen Page's character gains all attention and becomes the main person of the film, this is something we wouldn't have seen 50 years ago as only males dominated the key role in a film.

VFX

The use of visual effects in this film are remarkably well done, the fact places we know like the streets of Paris are exploded. The fight scene in the hotel corridor when there is zero gravity, it looks amazing well done so much to the fact you think it is real, all of these things are used to create a lot of realism.

Motifs- (A reoccurring idea which symbolises the happening of a key event)

-Totems: Cobb's Top, and his wedding ring before his wife dies.
-Water: Water has connotations of cleanliness and the dream state are refreshing.We see water in the opening scene as Cobb washes up on a beach, also when he is pushed into a bath of water and in his dreams the windows in the Japanese palace collapse with hug tidal waves.
-Lifts/stairwells: we see these a lot, and they are used to show different levels of intensity, in the way the gamers have difficulty levels that they have to progress through, a game is losing yourself in virtual reality, which is essentially what dreaming is, so this element of the film is used to connect with the real life gamers spectators of this film as they will empathise the different intensity level.
-War/fighting: Cobb is trying to achieve going back home and seeing his children who don't think he still exists, that is his battle, and anything that is achievable is worth fighting for.
-Musical motif- Leitmotif "Je Ne Regrette Rien", this song is played to wake them up from a dream.
-Tempo of the score reflects the level and depth of the dream and how fast the brain functions: Depending on what level of dream they are in music is played the the reality before the dream a lot slower as the brain functions a lot faster in dream state.

Wider Representations

-The implant in Fischer's head is to stop him from capitalising and going ahead with further plans of gaining to much power, so this film can be seen as an anti capitalism film.
-Male trauma post 9/11 attacks: Most of Christopher Nolan's films, especially the three Batman movies, the main male character is dealing with trauma.
-Crisis in masculinity: it was seen that males should't care too much about there appearance and buying product to alter that, but it is more and more common for males to by al ot of hair products and even beauty cosmetic products, masculinity is becoming much more feminim