Hmm…his analysis seems a bit shallow. Even though the initial reason for going "deep down" was "mercenary," the quest had many intensely personal, one might say spiritual, consequences for Leo's character as well as the guy they were trying to plant an idea in. Leo ends up confronting the truth about his projection of his deceased wife, and realizes he can't live in a fantasy, and his projected wife can never compare to his real one…he confronts and accepts reality. While the tone of the movie is not explicitly religious, it seems to me there are plenty of elements and themes in the movie that touch on the truth and reality about man, which is never far off from the truth and reality about God.
I have to concur with Jesse that Fr. Barron's premise relied upon the tactical necessities of the plot to a fault, and did not address the existential struggle within DeCaprio's character, whether in real or dream time, on how he is to venture home, and how to find the right path (which ultimately requires a supreme sacrifice.) I think Fr. Barron is generally on the money with film reviews, but he went tangential right away from his "mercenary" premise, and did not deal with what Chris Nolan artfully presents to him/us. I, like Jesse, found great religious resonance, in a way that could open doors of conversations with irreligious folk about the "deep within" experience.
I guess I will never understand how or why anyone would speak about these idiotic films as if they were serious works of art, as if they should even bother to be even noticed by anyone with a cursory appreciation of culture – even film culture. Or why anyone could sit through a performance by Mr DeCaprio without feeling the most sincere embarrassment for him (I mean, let's face it, a Burt Lancaster he ain't). The only explanation seems to be "grasping at straws", I guess.
Spend your time a little better: read a good book.
August 25, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Hmm…his analysis seems a bit shallow. Even though the initial reason for going "deep down" was "mercenary," the quest had many intensely personal, one might say spiritual, consequences for Leo's character as well as the guy they were trying to plant an idea in. Leo ends up confronting the truth about his projection of his deceased wife, and realizes he can't live in a fantasy, and his projected wife can never compare to his real one…he confronts and accepts reality. While the tone of the movie is not explicitly religious, it seems to me there are plenty of elements and themes in the movie that touch on the truth and reality about man, which is never far off from the truth and reality about God.
August 26, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I have to concur with Jesse that Fr. Barron's premise relied upon the tactical necessities of the plot to a fault, and did not address the existential struggle within DeCaprio's character, whether in real or dream time, on how he is to venture home, and how to find the right path (which ultimately requires a supreme sacrifice.) I think Fr. Barron is generally on the money with film reviews, but he went tangential right away from his "mercenary" premise, and did not deal with what Chris Nolan artfully presents to him/us. I, like Jesse, found great religious resonance, in a way that could open doors of conversations with irreligious folk about the "deep within" experience.
August 27, 2010 at 9:27 pm
I agree with Jesse. I would say NCReg's Steven Greydanus' take is much more insightful.
http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/inception
August 27, 2010 at 9:27 pm
I guess I will never understand how or why anyone would speak about these idiotic films as if they were serious works of art, as if they should even bother to be even noticed by anyone with a cursory appreciation of culture – even film culture. Or why anyone could sit through a performance by Mr DeCaprio without feeling the most sincere embarrassment for him (I mean, let's face it, a Burt Lancaster he ain't). The only explanation seems to be "grasping at straws", I guess.
Spend your time a little better: read a good book.
September 4, 2010 at 3:33 pm
The problem is that we expect too much from a movie where the protagonists could have achieved their goal through easier means.