Inception: "bigger the ego, more striving for clarity."

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2010)

Created out of a great filmmaker's ego, Inception gives us this message, "bigger the ego, more striving for clarity." I believe, in time, such events are happening: 1, you pay 7 dollars for this movie; 2, you finished seeing it, and you are giving thanks for this mind-messing roller-coaster. 3, though you know it's meant to mess with your mind, you consider Inception highly remarkable. You walked around, recommending it to friends, and already filed your vote for best movie 2010......4, you go on the IMDb, launching yourself into the debating as whether the tin top stopped or not in the end.
Such is the win-win proposal proposed by Inception: you pay the money, you feel happy to lose your sense of reality, and you praise it on its way to Oscar. I'd only wish there is a similar proposal proposed by my own daily life. But oops, aren't there enough such proposals in practice? Alcohols, drugs, pornography all give you a very similar proposal to escape the reality. Yet, they are not considered high art, unlike Inception. In fact, the dilemma I face when thinking about this wonderful movie I just saw is that, should I ask for clarity in this story? Because, if I do, I would fall into the debating trap set by the creators of the movie, that I will have to take sides of beliefs to clarify whether there is an absolute reality or everything was just a bubble in Mr. Cobb's mind. But if I don't, how can I find any coherence in this story, or, how am I going to tell my kids about this movie when they reach the age of questioning adults? Nolan's a genius. His movies, from Momento to The Dark Knight, all feature some questions with no absolute answers. Yet, all his movies can be enjoyable in a gritty way. Inception is no different. The multi-layered dream sequences are simply breathtaking, with only the snow mountain scene a bit less captivating. Anyway, it's a much more fluent, enjoyable ride than The Dark Knight (at least in the first viewing). I need to confess I like it, and will support it in the Oscar season. Yet, I like to discuss a bit deeper about the clarity question I brought up.
Despite the fact that we are all familiar with Nolan's style, that he likes ambiguity of messages and questions with no absolute answers, one can expect the discussion board here on IMDb has already been filled with blatant debating over the reality/dream problem left by the closing scene in the movie. Relax, I have no intention to throw myself into it, nor do I want to analyze the practicability of raiding another person's dream. One really can't fully enjoy this film if he doesn't forgo the desire of absolute clarity. Actually, some 2600 years ago, King Solomon already said something similar in Ecclesiastes 7:16, that "Do not be over-righteous, neither be over-wise—why destroy yourself?.....The man who fears God will avoid all extremes." Some questions contain traps in themselves, thus cannot be answered absolutely, like "Do you have any solid evidence to say all that happened in Inception took place in Mr. Cobb's dream?" Therefore, bigger the ego, more the struggle for clarity, thus more pain. Actually one doesn't need a context as complex as Inception to get the idea.
Concerning complexity, here's a simple comparison between the process of performing an "inception" and a confession. See, in order to perform an inception, one need to lure the target's consciousness into his sub-consciousness, hiring the best architect to build the scenario while fighting all the target's defending instincts dressing up as 007 goons. Sometimes the whole thing can mess up, and the inception performer even needs to use his own "limbo" to extract the target's consciousness, risking everything he has. Oh, I still forgot to mention the deliberate way they get pulled out of dreams layer after layer Sadly, in the movie, their mission objective of this inception is obviously evil, therefore making the whole process as impersonal as possible is also vital. I can't help thinking if I have the technology of inception when I want to confess to my love interest, should I perform an inception on her or just go and tell her that "I love you"? One would be illogical if he chooses the former (what's the point of making a confession impersonal). Such is the simplicity of doing the right things. Another example is asking for Jesus' help. In illustrating the simplicity of receiving God's grace, Jesus told the listeners, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."(Luke 11:9-10) Except when we already know what we are asking is intrinsically wrong, or when we presume God is a bargaining doctor who talks in riddles for a higher fee, we would always enjoy his goodness and grace in praying.
The world is often a hostile place, like Mr. Cobb's dream, you never know when the pedestrians would elevate from staring at you to stabbing you. Even worse, there are too many traps and too many wrong questions to ask. Nowadays, technology advancement keeps erasing our definition of right things and wrong things to do, while keeps stressing on doing things right. Inception is really a good movie that reminds to do the right things rather than doing things right.