More on Inception

The most beautiful scene in the movie is when Cobb sees his children's faces - in the real world. The most unrealistic part of the dream sequences is that no one ever gets bogged down and unable to move their feet when being chased. Small sacrifice for the rest of the movie's messages. For example, the chaos of the chases and reverberations from other levels and the dangers are like a dream.

Parts of the movie and certain characters contain more meaning than others. Sometimes, in looking for the biblical message in a movie, one must pick parts, which are not always sequential. For example, there's a message in Saito's character (misspelled before as Sato). He hires Cobb and his team, but he doesn't ask, he tells Cobb that he will do the job even before Cobb agrees to. He also tells Cobb he can get him a pardon from the murder rap with one phone call if he'll do the job. He also has immense power - he can buy an airline at the drop of the hat. He is, therefore, most like God in a movie about using god-like powers to enter and influence people's minds. He is the one who advises Cobb about being an old man full of regret. He watches over Cobb and even saves his life in Mombassa. He also gets wounded in the final dream sequence, goes into limbo after telling Cobb that he'll return, is followed by Cobb as if Cobb takes up his cross to follow, and resurrects Cobb and himself from the limbo dream world.

Saito represents the character of God that exhorts with strength, but also with confidence. He is a father-figure to Cobb and the counterpart of Cobb's sympathetic, advising, but unreproaching real father. He is definitely not like the corporate heirs father who is strong, but only for himself, who is disappointed in his son, and who simply wants to build an empire for himself. The father image is critical throughout the movie. In fact, when Cobb contacts Eames, the thief and forger, about joining the team for the Saito job, they discuss the goal - to change the corporate heirs mind about retaining a monopoly power like his father did. Eames thinks political anti-monopoly ideas won't work - a person's prejudices would get in the way too easily. Then he says something profound: "You have to go to the absolute basic to make the idea stick - the relationship with the father."

Cobb is not able to be a father to his children because of his guilt over what he did to his wife. Saito gets him a pardon in an instant of time, like faith in Christ causes a pardon to be received by the sinner facing condemnation and eternal death. The corporate heir does what is right with respect to the corporation because he sees his father in a totally different light. And Cobb's real father gives him the ability and knowledge to perform the dream invasions, but he does not condone the thievery and deception Cobb employs. Thus, 3 aspects of the creator God are shown - he gives to man the power to create but does not condone the sinful perversion of that power, He reveals Himself to man in a supernatural way outside the control of man showing his compassion and goodness, and he pardons at the moment the sinner receives Christ as his atonement and salvation.