I just saw Christopher Nolan’s Inception for the second time in the same week. It’s not that I loved the film so much the first time, but rather that I find myself in a different city, with different friends who hadn’t seen it, and it just seemed like a good idea.
I won’t say much about the film here, because I wouldn’t want to ruin the experience for those of you who have not seen it.
But if you have already seen it, I am happy to report that it is vastly better the second time. The first time around the experience is something like trying to catch up and learn the rules of a strange game. It’s hard to focus on the experience of playing a game when you’re worrying about where the ball is supposed to go, or how many houses it takes to make a hotel. The first time seeing Inception is very much like that.
The second time around, everything makes sense — perfect sense. All the pieces fall into place, and moments early in the film that seemed on first viewing to be mysterious, or even downright impenetrable, are a complete delight the second time around. Which means there is more room to concentrate on the powerful underlying themes of the film, which I now finally appreciate.
I wonder what it says about a film when the second time seeing it is a vastly more rewarding experience than the first time. Does this quality speak well for the work? “Better on second viewing” seems like a rather unusual and intriguing quality. There are many movies I’ve enjoyed just fine but wouldn’t dream of ever seeing again — generally silly comedies or straight-ahead melodramas that promise very little and deliver faithfully on that promise.
At the other extreme, there are films like Casablanca and Blade Runner that I can watch over and over. Each viewing is different, and I find I am never bored. In some sense the true subject of such endlessly watchable films is film itself — the mystery of sitting in a darkened theatre and experiencing living dreams about the human condition. Like a great painting by Magritte or poem by Walt Whitman, they illuminate the mystery of the human heart while managing to preserve that mystery, in all its complex magnificence.
It’s too soon to tell whether Inception falls into that category. I suppose I’ll know better the next time I see it. 🙂
I haven’t seen the film, so thank you 🙂 I wanted to see it in “version originale” without dubbing… must look for it in Paris…
Music is the same for me, but maybe different for other people. For example right now I have this Brazilian Jazz CD and some tracks I like right away, others I don’t immediately but 2nd or 3rd playing I’m addicted and play over and over… Maybe those “1st timer” ones are those which survive the test of time?
I definitely agree that it’s a bit exhausting upon first seeing the movie. I’m thinking about going to see it a second time. It was none the less very impressive the first time.
I just saw it finally. I thought it was good, but a female friend I went with and I thought it’s definitely a BOY’S movie! All the weapons and cars and speed etc… and we wondered if it were about female dreams, what would they be? Shoes, shopping and food? Then my friend said, “It would be about men who would talk to you about how he feels”. Since she is just separated from her husband of 20 yrs, that was telling…