Sigmund Freud, one of the founders of psychoanalysis, once said that dreams are "the royal road to the unconscious" and I think Christopher Nolan does so. shows in this movie, Inception. Whenever Cobb enters a dream, whether it's his own or someone else's, everything that happens in the dream is a result of what they are fighting in their minds. For example, when Cobb's deceased wife Mal appears in Cobb's dreams, it is only because he feels guilty about being the reason she committed suicide and now his children find themselves without a mother (and without a father since he had to flee). The following essay will explain and give examples of specific elements of the film and what their functions are, including the roles they play in the plot. I will also give examples of instances of similarity and repetition in the film and why this happens. I will show my understanding of difference and variation; development; and unity/disunity by giving examples and citing important theoretical information from Film Art: An Introduction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In Inception, there are many different items with different functions. The main characters in the film have their own function and their own “job” to do. Although the characters are somewhat important, the protagonist, Dom Cobb, plays the most important role of all. It has been argued that Christopher Nolan, the director and screenwriter, did not create complete characters. The only character truly explored throughout the film is Dom Cobb. Kristin Thompson says on her co-owned blog: “I agree that the characters in Inception, aside from Cobb, the protagonist, are barely given traits. » And “We understand most of the characters by the type of premises they offer.” (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010). Thompson continues to explain how the characters (except the protagonist) only have one trait or function that makes them significant in the film. Yusuf, who knows how to manipulate the use of sedatives; Fischer, the young man who has a “complicated” relationship with his father; Saito, the Japanese for whom Cobb must do extraction work; Ariane, the architect who builds the world of dreams; Arthur, Cobb's dream companion; and Eames the "forger" who can transform into other people in dreams as well as Cobb's wife Mal. In the film, the spinning top plays a fairly important role. Dom Cobb uses a top as a “totem”. This totem serves to differentiate reality from dreams. In reality, the top will stop spinning while in a dream it will continue to spin. It is advisable for every person to have a totem with them and only you should know the weight, feel, dimensions etc. otherwise it will not work. The spinning top also has an important role at the end of the film. Music also has a function in the film. Edith Piaf’s “Je ne regrette rien” is played whenever someone needs to come back to reality. He informs the dreamers that they must complete their "mission". The totem is shown several times to show its importance in the overall plot of the film (as explained under Function). The totem is seen as a motif in this film. Film Art: An Introduction explains: “A motif is any significant repeated element that contributes to the overall form. It could be an object, a color, a place, a person, a sound or even a character trait. (Bordwell and Thompson 2013:63) Another repeated element is the music played to warn the dreamers. Music is played at the beginning of the film as well as at the climax.Yusuf puts headphones on Arthur's head to help them synchronize the "kick" of each dream level. “Kicks” are used to wake the person from a dream state. Awakening is caused by creating a falling movement for the dreamer in order to wake him up. Yusuf explains that he designed the sedative so that it would not interfere with the functioning of the inner ear. This allows the “drop” to penetrate through a layer of the dream. In every dream there is a similarity and (repetition) for Cobb. When he enters a dream state, Mal manages to appear. When this happens, the audience knows that Cobb is not in control of his dream. Later in the film, the audience discovers that she keeps appearing because he lives with the guilt of being part of the reason his wife committed suicide. It is essential to know that when participants in a dream die, they wake up. Cobb implanted the idea that dreams were reality in his mind. So when she woke up, she thought she was still in a dream. There are differences and variations in every dream. No two dreams are the same. Indeed, each dream may have a different host, a different architect and different mental obstacles. It’s the way Nolan pits characters and their environments against each other. This becomes particularly evident in Cobb's dream mission in Fischer's mind. In Cobb's mission, there are 4 levels. The first level takes place in a modern city. It is pouring rain when Yusuf, the “owner” of the dream, has forgotten to empty his bladder. The second level takes place in a very fancy and expensive hotel. It makes sense that this is Arthur's dream because he is always well dressed. The third level takes place in a very snowy area. Mal appears and kills Fischer, which leads Cobb and Ariadne to the fourth level – Limbo. We suspect that Limbo is an unconstructed place, but to Ariadne's surprise, it is quite the opposite. This is still from when Mal and Cobb were stuck there. Development takes place throughout Inception. The film begins with what appears to be a flash forward scene featuring Cobb and Saito. This is revealed near the end of the film when Cobb enters Limbo to find Saito after his death in Level 3. Throughout the film, you wonder how important this scene is in the film as well as how important is the relationship between Saito and Cobb. in the plot of the film. The film develops by showing the audience what Saito needs from Cobb and why it benefits him to finish the job. The development of the film helps us understand that Cobb needs Saito to be able to return to America. He had fled the country because people thought he was the reason Mal committed suicide. The film also expands by revealing to the audience why Cobb's wife died and why it affects his dreams so badly. Film Art: An Introduction states: “Filmmakers often treat formal development as a progression from beginning to middle to end. » (Bordwell and Thomson 2013: 67), which is exactly what happens in the film. This type of development is the most effective for viewers because it is easier to understand. Bordwell and Thompson explain unity in a film: “When all the relationships we perceive in a film are clear and economically related, we say that the film has unity. We often refer to a unified film as "tight" because there seems to be no gap in its overall form. (Bordwell and Thompson 2013: 69). They later say that perfect unity is rare in a film and that some films will still have unanswered questions (Bordwell and Thompson 2013: 70). Inception resolves most of the details it. 2016].