Inception

I recently saw the much anticipated Inception and I was not disappointed. It boasts a very strong cast with Leonardo DiCaprio leading the way as Dominic Cobb, a man who breaks into the dreams of others to steal information. This process is called 'extraction'. He is also a man on the run, unable to get back to his family in America after the death of his wife (Marion Cotillard). He is offered the chance to start afresh when a powerful businessman, played by Ken Wanatabe, wants him to break into the subconcious of a rival corporate businessman, played by Cillian Murphy, and plant the idea to dissolve his empire which threatens to gain a monopoly in the energy business. This process of planting an idea in a mind is called 'inception'. It is a very interesting and novel idea, thought up, or possibly dreamt up, by the talented Christopher Nolan who also writes and directs the film. He originally came up with the idea about ten years ago but wanted to have more experience in directing big scale films, so with films like The Dark Knight and The Prestige under his belt he went back and worked on the script for six months before selling it to Warner Brothers. I'm not surprised it took Nolan six months to work on the script, as the film is very complex and multi-layered. It's the kind of film that demands several viewings to fully understand what's going on. Or maybe I'm just a bit thick. It is certainly refreshing to watch a film that is this original and not a dumbed down special effects popcorn movie that is part of a franchise or a remake (cough cough Predators cough cough The A Team). Visually the film is very impressive. The dream world is very cool and the action scenes are exciting and fast paced. The plot is inventive and compelling, with some twists that you would expect from Nolan. After watching the film I had a really interesting conversation with my dad about dreams, the human mind and the subconscious. It's a fascinating and mysterious area of our human experience. Do dreams mean anything? Are we using all of our brain? Where does human consciousness and intelligence come from? Is it just a product of neutrons and chemicals in the brain or is there a spiritual element to our intelligence? What is the difference between the brain and the mind? Sometimes my dreams can be very violent. Often I am a soldier in battle. Sometimes, but not often, I am singing and playing the guitar. I am aware in my dream that the music is really good and it's my own creation but when I wake up I can't remember it. I wonder why I can't create great music when I am awake. It seems that in my dreams my subconscious is given a free reign to use all the creative power of my brain. As part of the human condition we are bound by our limitations. It's not something we can do much about, unless there is significant medical development that can help harness the power of the mind. I am sure there are techniques and substances that can help develop our brain function and hopefully medicines can be developed to combat conditions like dementia and Alzheimers. This is indeed important and often I get frustrated myself when my own brain is not functioning well so I don't want to undervalue the importance of the human brain. At times I wish I was smarter. But I can imagine that for many scientists and pscyhologists who are atheists this ability to get as much use of the brain in our one life here on earth can become an unhealthy focus. Brain function and IQ are of course very important but sometimes they can overshadow other areas of what it is to be human like emotional intelligence, kindness and integrity. The actress Natalie Portman once said 'I'd rather be smart than a movie star.' I don't disagree with her but I would rather be kind and loving than smart. If more people focused on developing their emotional intelligence and fostering qualities like kindness and patience and acceptance then the world would be a much better place. There are too many smart people with no heart. Without wanting to sound corny, at the end of the day love is the answer to the problems and frustrations of our limited human experience. My dad made an interesting point about dreams. He said that maybe the wonderful dreams we have are a foretaste of heaven. In heaven we will be set free from the shackles of our human limitations and we can truly express ourselves. Apparently 'eternal life' does not mean the soul living for ever and ever. The Greek translation of 'eternal life' is 'the fullness of life'. Time will not exist in heaven, in the way we experience and understand it now. I have no idea what it's going to be like but it will be 'the fullness of life', which sounds pretty cool.
Inception 8/10