Inception (2010)

I didn't understand much of this long (150 minutes) and complex science fiction thriller, but that's been true for many viewers. Nonetheless, the film is well worth watching for the cinematic creativity of writer-director Christopher Nolan. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the "most skilled extractor" ever. He can reach deep into your subconscious to know everything about you, and even teach you to defend yourself against the same. That makes Cobb a hot prospect in the world of international corporate espionage, and so he assembles a team to oblige an industrial client, who in turn offers him a road to redemption. But if there's extraction, can there not also be inception? If you can steal thoughts, can't you also implant them into a person's brain? Cobb's mission is to implant thoughts into his client's rival. Nolan thus explores the nature of truth, dreams, reality, fantasy, free will, memory, consciousness, cause, effect, and time. The narrative switches between reality and dreams, and it's never clear which character is in which mental state. Are you in my dream or am I in yours?