The problem was knowing that none of it was real.
Eventually, it just became impossible for me to live like that.
And what about for her?
She had locked something away, something deep inside her.
A truth that she had once known, but chose to forget.
Limbo became her reality.
What happened when you woke up?
Well, to wake up from that after years, after decades...
...to become old souls thrown back into youth like that?
l knew something was wrong with her. She just wouldn't admit it.
Eventually, she told me the truth.
She was possessed by an idea.
This one very simple idea that changed everything.
That our world wasn't real.
That she needed to wake up to come back to reality...
...that in order to get back home...
...we had to kill ourselves.
-What about your children? -She thought they were projections...
...that our real children were waiting for us up there somewhere.
MAL: l'm their mother! COBB: Calm down.
l can tell the difference.
lf this is my dream, why can't l control this?
You don't know you're dreaming!
COBB: She was certain there was nothing l could do...
...no matter how much l begged, no matter how much l pleaded.
She wanted to do it, but she could not do it alone.
She loved me too much, so she came up with a plan on our anniversay.
-Sweetheart, what are you doing? -Join me.
Just - Just step back inside. All right? Just step back inside now, come on.
No. l'm going to jump, and you're coming with me.
No, l'm not.
Now, you listen to me.
lf you jump, you're not gonna wake up, remember? You're gonna die.
Now, just step back inside.
Come on. Step back inside so we can talk about this.
We've talked enough.
-Mal. -Come out onto the ledge...
-...or l'll jump right now. -Okay.
We're gonna talk about this.
All right?
-l'm asking you to take a leap of faith. -No, honey.
No, l can't. You know l can't do that.
Take a second, think about our children.
Think about James.
Think about Phillipa, now.
lf l go without you, they'll take them away anyway.
-What does that mean? -l filed a letter with our attorney...
...explaining how l'm fearful for my safety.
How you've threatened to kill me.
-Why did you do this? -l love you, Dom.
Why did ? Why would you do this to me?
l've freed you from the guilt of choosing to leave them.
We're going home to our real children.
Oh, no, no, no, Mal, you listen to me, all right? Mal, look at me, please?
You're waiting for a train.
-Mal, goddamn it, don't do this! -A train that will take you far away.
James and Phillipa are waiting for you!
You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't know for sure.
-Mal, look at me! -But it doesn't matter.
-Mal, goddamn it! Mal, listen to me! -Because you'll be together.
Sweetheart! Look at me! Mal, no!
Jesus Christ!
She had herself declared sane by three different psychiatrists.
lt made it impossible for me to try to explain the nature of her madness.
So l ran.
[CHILDREN GIGGLING]
MAN: Right now, or never, Cobb.
WOMAN: James! Phillipa! Come on in! Come on!
All right, let's go.
l left my children behind and l've been trying to buy my way back ever since.
Your guilt defines her. It's what powers her.
But you are not responsible for the idea that destroyed her.
And if we are gonna succeed in this...
...you have to forgive yourself, and you're gonna have to confront her.
But you don't have to do that alone.
-No, you're not.... -l'm doing it for the others.
Because they have no idea the risk they've taken coming down here with you.
We have to move.
Time's up.
All right. l don't know any combination.
-Not consciously, anyway. COBB: How about instinctively, huh?
l got somebody in your father's office right now ready to tap in the combination.
Give me the first six numbers that come to your head right now.
-l have no idea. -Right now!
l said, right now! Right now!
Five, two, eight, four, nine, one.
You'll have to do better than that.
All right. Bag them. You're going for a ride.
FISCHER: We're worth more to you alive. You hear me?
What'd you get?
Relationship with his father is worse than we imagined.
This helps us how?
The stronger the issues, the more powerful the catharsis.
-How are we gonna reconcile them? -l'm working on that.
Work faster. The projections are closing in quick.
We gotta break out of here before we're totally boxed in.
Damn it.
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
We need to shift his animosity from his father to his godfather.
-Destroy his one positive relationship? -No, repair his relationship with his father...
...whilst exposing his godfather's true nature.
We should charge Fischer a lot more than Saito for this job.
His security is gonna get worse as we go deeper.
-l think we run with Mr. Charles. -No.
EAMES: Who's Mr. Charles? -Bad idea.
The second we get into that hotel his security's gonna be all over us.
We run with Mr. Charles like on the Stein job.
-You've done it before? ARTHUR: Yeah, and it didn't work.
The subject realized he was dreaming and his subconscious tore us to pieces.
Excellent. But you learned a lot, right?
-l need some kind of distraction. EAMES: No problem.
How about a lovely lady that l've used before?
Listen to me. You drive carefully, all right?
Everything down there is gonna be unstable as hell.
Don't jump too soon. We only got one shot at that kick. We gotta make it.
l'll play the music to let you know it's coming. The rest is on you.
-You ready? -Ready!
Sweet dreams.
WOMAN: Am l boring you?
l was telling you my story. l guess it wasn't to your liking.
Um, l have a lot on my mind.
There goes Mr. Charles.
Mr. Fischer, right?
Pleasure to see you again. Rod Green from marketing. l
Hmm.
-And you must be? -Leaving.
ln case you get bored.
Must've blown you off.
That is, unless her phone number really is only six digits.
Funny way to make friends, someone stealing your wallet like that.
[SCOFFS]
Goddamn it. The wallet alone is worth at least 500
About $500, right?
Don't worry about it. My people are already on it as we speak.
Who or what is Mr. Charles?
lt's a gambit designed to turn Fischer against his own subconscious.
ARIADNE: And why don't you approve?
lt involves telling the mark that he's dreaming...
...which involves attracting a lot of attention to us.
-Didn't Cobb say never to do that? -Hmm.
So now you've noticed how much time...
...Cobb spends doing things he says never to do.
Mr. Saito, can l have a moment?
-l'm sorry, but.... MAN: Hold on! Wait!
You look a bit perkier.
Very amusing, Mr. Eames.
[RUMBLING]
Turbulence on the plane?
No, it's much closer.
That's Yusuf's driving.
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[GLASSES CLINKING]
Um, l'm sorry. Who did you say you were?
COBB: Rod Green from marketing.
But that's not true at all, is it?
My name is Mr. Charles. You remember me, don't you?
l'm the head of your security down here.
Get out on a different floor, keep moving.
Dump the wallet. Security will be looking for that.
-Okay. -We need to buy Cobb a little more time.
[COUGHING]
Security, huh?
-You work for the hotel? -No, no.
l specialize in a very specific type of security.
Subconscious security.
You're talking about dreams?
Are you talking about, um, extraction?
l am here to protect you.
[GLASS SHATTERS]
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[CHATTERING STOPS]
Mr. Fischer, l'm here to protect you in the event...
...that someone tries to access your mind through your dreams.
You're not safe here.
They're coming for you.
[YELLS]
Strange weather, isn't it?
You feel that?
What's happening?
Cobb's drawing Fischer's attention to the strangeness of the dream...
...which is making his subconscious Iook for the dreamer.
For me. Quick, give me a kiss.
-They're still looking at us. -Yeah, it was worth a shot.
We should probably get out of here.
[GUNFIRE]
COBB: You feel that? You've actually been trained for this, Mr. Fischer.
Pay attention to the strangeness of the weather, the shift in gravity.
None of this is real. You're in a dream.
Now, the easiest way for you to test yourself...
...is to try and remember how you arrived at this hotel. Can you do that?
Yeah, l....
COBB: No, breathe, breathe. Remember your training.
Accept the fact that you're in a dream, and l'm here to protect you. Go on.
Mm-hm.
-You're not real? -No.
No. l'm a projection of your subconscious.
l was sent here to protect you in the event...
...that extractors tried to pull you into a dream.
And l believe that's what's going on right now, Mr. Fischer.
Yeah.
Okay.
Can you get me out of here?
Right away. Follow me.
Hold on a second.
Jesus Christ! What are you doing?
These men were sent here to abduct you, all right?
lf you want my help, you have to remain calm.
l need you to work with me, Mr. Fischer.
lf this is a dream, l should just kill myself to wake up, right?
l wouldn't do that if l were you, Mr. Fischer.
l believe they have you sedated, and if you pull that trigger...
...you may not wake up.
You may go into a further dream state. Now, you know what l'm talking about.
You remember the training.
Remember what l said to you.
Give me the gun.
-This room should be directly below 528? -Yeah.
[SAFE BEEPS]
Think, Mr. Fischer, think.
What do you remember from before this dream?
There was, um, a lot of gunfire.
There was rain.
Uncle Peter.
-Oh, my God, we've been kidnapped. -Where were they holding you?
-They had us in the back of a van. -That explains the gravity shifts.
You're in the back of a van. Keep going.
lt had something to do with, um....
Something to do with a safe.
God, why is it so hard to remember?
lt's like trying to remember a dream after you've woken up.
Listen, it takes years of practice.
You and Browning have been pulled into this dream...
...because they're trying to steal something from your mind.
l need you to focus and try and remember what that is.
What is it, Mr. Fischer? Think!
A combination. They demanded the first numbers to pop into my head.
They're trying to extract a number from your subconscious.
lt can represent anything. We're in a hotel right now.
We should try hotel rooms. What was the number, Mr. Fischer?
Try and remember for me. This is very important.
Five.
Five, two - It was something, it was a long number.
That's good. We can start there. Fifth floor.
Yep.
-So do you use a timer? -No, l have to judge it for myself.
While you're all asleep in 528, l wait for Yusuf's kick.
-Well, how will you know? -His music warns me.
And then when the van hits the barrier of the bridge, that should be unmistakable.
So we get a nice synchronized kick.
lf it's too soon, we won't get pulled out.
But if it's too late, l won't be able to drop us.
-Well, why not? -Because the van will be in freefall.
-Can't drop you without gravity. -Right.
They're with me. Go on.
Mr. Charles.
-Do you know what that is, Mr. Fischer? -Yeah, l think so.
They were trying to put you under.
-l'm already under. -Under again.
What do you mean, a dream within a dream?
Hey. l see you've changed.
l'm sorry?
Oh, l'm sorry. l mistook you for a friend.
Oh.
Good-looking fellow, l'm sure.
No, no, no. That's Fischer's projection of Browning.
Let's follow him and see how he behaves.
-Why? -Because how he acts will tell us...
...if Fischer is starting to suspect his motives the way we want him to.
Shh.
[DOOR OPENS]
-Uncle Peter. -You said you were kidnapped together?
Well, not exactly. They already had him. They were torturing him.
And you saw them torture him?
The kidnappers are working for you?
Robert.
You're trying to get that safe open? To get the alternate will?
Fischer Morrow has been my entire life. l can't let you destroy it.
l'm not gonna throw away my inheritance.
l couldn't let you rise to your father's last taunt.
-What taunt? -The will, Robert. That will?
That's his last insult.
A challenge for you to build something for yourself...
...by telling you you're not worthy of his accomplishments.
-What, but that he was, um, disappointed? -l'm sorry.
But he's wrong.
You can build a better company than he ever did.
Mr. Fischer? He's lying.
-How do you know? -Trust me, it's what l do.
He's hiding something, and we need to find out what that is.
l need you to do the same thing to him that he was going to do to you.
We'll enter his subconscious and find out what he doesn't want you to know.
All right.
[MACHINE HISSING]
COBB: He's out. -Wait.
Whose subconscious are we going into exactly?
We're going into Fischer's.
l told him it was Browning's so he'd be a part of our team.
He's gonna help us break into his own subconscious.
COBB: That's right.
Security's gonna run you down hard.
And l will lead them on a merry chase.
-Just be back before the kick. -Go to sleep, Mr. Eames.
ARTHUR: You good?
Hey. You ready?
Yes, yes. l'm fine. l'm ready.
ARIADNE: Cobb?
Cobb? What's down there?
Hopefully, the truth we want Fischer to learn.
l mean, what's down there for you?
[SHOTGUN COCKS]
[GUNFIRE THEN YUSUF YELLS]
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
[YUSUF YELLS]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[METAL GROANING]
[SECURITY GUARD SCREAMING]
[YELLING]
[GUNSHOT]
[LAUGHS]
Did you see that?
COBB: Eames, this is your dream.
l need you to draw the security away from the complex, understand?
-Who guides Fischer in? COBB: Not me.
lf l know the route, everything could be compromised.
-l designed the place. COBB: No, you're with me.
SAITO: l could do it.
All right. Brief him on the route into the complex.
-Fischer, you'll be going with him. -All right. What about you?
You keep this live. l'll be listening in the whole time.
The windows on that upper floor are big enough for me to cover you from that tower.
FISCHER: You're not coming in?
ln order to find out the truth about your father...
...you're gonna need to break into Browning's mind on your own.
SAITO: Come on, Fischer!
[BUllER SOUNDING]
-Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm! -Go, go, go!
Move!
Go!
[GUNFIRE]
YUSUF: Sod it.
l hope you're ready.
[''NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN'' PLAYING]
[SONG ECHOlNG]
No, it's too soon.
[SONG ECHOlNG]
Cobb, do you hear that?
l first noticed it about 20 minutes ago, l thought it was the wind up here.
Yeah, l hear it. It's music.
So, what do we do?
We move fast.
Yusuf's 10 seconds from the jump.
Which gives Arthur three minutes.
-Hey! -That's him!
-Which gives us what? -Sixty minutes.
-Can they make that route in an hour? -They have to climb to the terrace.
Then they need a new route, a more direct route.
[SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY]
lt's designed as a labyrinth.
There must be access routes that cut through the maze.
Eames?
[GUNFIRE]
Did Eames add any features?
l don't think l should tell you.
We don't have time for this. Did he add anything?
He added an air-duct system that can cut through the maze.
Good. Explain it to them.
ARIADNE: Saito? -Go ahead.
[SECURITY GUARD GRUNTS]
Paradox.
[SCREAMS THEN THUDS]
[BOTH GASPING]
ARIADNE: What was that? -The kick.
Cobb! Cobb, did we miss it?
Yeah, we missed it.
FISCHER: Man.
Couldn't someone have dreamt up a goddamn beach? Huh?
Uh-huh.
EAMES [OVER RADlO]: Well, what the hell do we do now?
We finish the job before the next kick.
-What next kick? -When the van hits the water.
WOMAN [ON RECORDING]: If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and ty again.
lf you need help, hang up....
How do l drop you without gravity?
Arthur has a couple minutes, and we have about 20.
[SAITO COUGHING]
You okay?
SOLDIER: Run! Turn around! Move to base! Move to base!
Go, go, go!
There's something wrong.
They're heading your way, like they know something.
Just buy us more time, all right?
-Come on! -On my way.
SOLDIER: Come on! Move!
[SILENCED GUNSHOT]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
All right.
[SILENCED GUNSHOT]
Okay. That's the antechamber outside the strong room.
-Does the strong room have windows? -lt wouldn't be very strong if it did.
Let's hope Fischer likes what he finds in there.
-Are those projections his subconscious? -Yes.
-Are you destroying parts of his mind? -No. They're just projections.
[COUGHS]
[SAITO COUGHING]
-We're here. -You're clear, but hurry.
There's an entire army headed your way.
[WHISPERS] l'm in.
[STATIC OVER RADlO]
[TURNS RADlO OFF]
SOLDIER: There he is.
-There's someone in there. -Fischer, it's a trap. Get out.
Come on. Come on, a little lower.
ARIADNE: Cobb.
No, she is not real.
How do you know that?
She is just a projection. Fischer. Fischer is real.
[GRUNTS]
Hello.
ARIADNE: Eames! Eames, get to the antechamber now!
EAMES: What happened? -Mal killed Fischer.
l couldn't shoot her.
There's no use in reviving him. His mind's already trapped down there.
lt's all over.
So that's it, then? We failed?
We're done. l'm sorry.
lt's not me that doesn't get back to my family, is it?
Shame. l wanted to know what was gonna happen in there. l swear we had this.
Let's set the charges.
No, there's still another way.
-We have to follow Fischer down there. -Not enough time.
No, but there will be enough time down there.
And we will find him.
Okay, as soon as Arthur's music kicks in, just use the defibrillator to revive him.
We can give him his own kick down below.
Look, you get him in there.
As soon as the music ends, you blow up the hospital...
...and we all ride the kick back up the layers.
lt's worth a shot, if Saito can hold the guards off while l set the charges.
Saito will never make it, will he?
-Cobb, come on. We've gotta try this. -Go for it.
lf you are not back before the kick, l am gone with or without you.
She's right. She's right. Come on. Let's go.
Can l trust you to do what needs to happen here?
Mal's gonna be down there.
l know where to find her. She'll have Fischer.
-How do you know? -Because she wants me to come after him.
She wants me back down there with her.
All right?
-This is your world? -lt was.
And this is where she'll be.
Come on.
[GUNFIRE]
Saito. Saito.
l need you to take care of Fischer while l go set some charges, okay?
No room for tourists on these jobs.
Don't be silly.
ARIADNE: You built all this? This is incredible.
We built for years.
Then we started in on the memories.
This way.
COBB: This was our neighborhood.
Places from our past.
That was our first apartment.
Then we moved to that building right there.
After Mal became pregnant, that became our home.
You reconstructed all of this from memory?
Like l told you, we had lots of time.
ARIADNE: What is that?
That's the house Mal grew up in.
-Well, will she be in there? -No.
Come on.
We both wanted to live in a house, but we loved this type of building.
ln the real world, we'd have to choose, but not here.
[GRUNTS]
[GUNFIRE]
[GRUNTS]
[BEEPS]
How are we gonna bring Fischer back?
We're gonna have to come up with some kind of a kick.
What?
l'm gonna improvise.
Listen, there's something you should know about me. About inception.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[GUNFIRE]
An idea is like a virus. Resilient.
Highly contagious.
And the smallest seed of an idea can grow.
lt can grow to define...
...or destroy you.
MAL: The smallest idea, such as:
''Your world is not real.''
Simple little thought that changes everything.
So certain of your world. Of what's real.
Do you think he is?
Or do you think he's as lost as l was?
COBB: l know what's real, Mal.
No creeping doubts?
Not feeling persecuted, Dom?
Chased around the globe...
...by anonymous corporations and police forces...
...the way the projections persecute the dreamer?
Admit it.
You don't believe in one reality anymore.
So choose.
Choose to be here.
Choose me.
[COUGHS]
You know what l have to do.
l have to get back to our children because you left them.
Because you left us.
-You're wrong. COBB: l'm not wrong.
You're confused.
Our children are here.
And you'd like to see their faces again, wouldn't you?
Yes, but l'm gonna see them up above, Mal.
[GUNFIRE]
[BEEPS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[SAITO COUGHING]
Up above?
Listen to yourself. These are our children.
Watch.
James? Phillipa?
Don't do this, Mal. Please. Those aren't my children.
You keep telling yourself that, but you don't believe it.
-No, l know it. -What if you're wrong?
What if l'm what's real?
You keep telling yourself what you know.
But what do you believe?
What do you feel?
Guilt.
l feel guilt, Mal.
And no matter what l do, no matter how hopeless l am...
...no matter how confused, that guilt is always there...
...reminding me of the truth.
What truth?
That the idea that caused you to question your reality came from me.
You planted the idea in my mind?
What is she talking about?
The reason l knew inception was possible was because l did it to her first.
-l did it to my own wife. -Why?
We were lost in here.
l knew we needed to escape, but she wouldn't accept it.
She had locked something away, something deep inside.
A truth that she had once known, but chose to forget.
And she couldn't break free.
So l decided to search for it.
l went deep into the recess of her mind and found that secret place.
And l broke in...
...and l planted an idea.
A simple little idea that would change everything.
That her world wasn't real.
That death was the only escape.
You're waiting for a train.
[METAL GROANING]
A train that'll take you far away.
You know where you hope this train will take you...
...but you can't know for sure.
Yet it doesn't matter.
-Now, tell me why! -Because you'll be together!
COBB: But l never knew that that idea would grow in her mind like a cancer...
...that even after she woke....
That even after you came back to reality...
...that you'd continue to believe your world wasn't real.
That death was the only escape.
Mal, no! Jesus!
-You infected my mind. -l was trying to save you.
You betrayed me.
But you can make amends. You can still keep your promise.
We can still be together, right here...
...in the world we built together.
[COUGHING]
[BEEPS]
[GUNFIRE]
[GRUNTS]
[''NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN'' PLAYING]
[SONG ECHOlNG]
[DEFIBRILLATOR CHARGING]
[THUNDER CRASHING]
Cobb, we need to get Fischer.
You can't have him.
-lf l stay here, will you let him go? -What are you talking about?
Fischer is on the porch.
-Go check he's alive, Ariadne. -Cobb, you can't do this.
Go check he's alive right now. Do it.
[ARIADNE GRUNTING]
He's here! And it's time, but you have to come now!
COBB: You take Fischer with you, all right? -You can't stay here to be with her.
l'm not. Saito's dead by now.
That means he's down here somewhere. That means l have to find him.
l can't stay with her anymore, because she doesn't exist.
l'm the only thing you do believe in anymore.
No.
l wish.
l wish more than anything, but...
...l can't imagine you with all your complexity...
...all your perfection, all your imperfection.
-You all right? -Yeah.
Look at you.
You're just a shade. You're just a shade of my real wife.
And you were the best that l could do, but...
...l'm sorry, you're just not good enough.
Does this feel real?
[GUNSHOT]
-What are you doing? -lmprovising.
[GASPING]
No, no, no!
ln there, now. Go, go, go.
l was dis
l was dis - Disa
-l know, Dad. -Dis
l know you were disappointed...
...l couldn't be you.
No.
No, no, no.
l was disappointed...
...that you tried.
[BEEPING]
What?
Come on, come on.
Dad?
[SOBBING]
That's the kick, Ariadne! You have to go now!
Don't lose yourself! Find Saito and bring him back!
l will!
You remember when you asked me to marry you?
Yes.
You said you dreamt that we'd grow old together.
But we did.
We did. You don't remember?
l miss you more than l can bear...
...but we had our time together.
And l have to let you go.
l have to let you go.
l'm sorry, Robert.
[ARTHUR YELLS]
You know, the will means that Dad wanted me to be my own man...
...not just to live for him.
That's what l'm gonna do, Uncle Peter.
What happened?
-Cobb stayed. -With Mal?
No, to find Saito.
He'll be lost.
No, he'll be all right.
SAITO: Have you come to kill me?
l'm waiting for someone.
COBB: Someone from a half-remembered dream.
Cobb?
[SCOFFS]
lmpossible.
We were young men together.
l'm an old man.
Filled with regret.
Waiting to die alone.
l've come back for you.
To remind you of something.
Something you once knew.
That this world is not real.
To convince me to honor our arrangement?
To take a leap of faith, yes.
Come back...
...so we can be young men together again.
Come back with me.
Come back.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Hot towel, sir?
We'll be landing in Los Angeles in about 20 minutes.
Do you need immigration forms?
Thank you.
Hot towel, sir?
-No. -Do you need immigration forms?
Welcome home, Mr. Cobb.
Thank you, sir.
Welcome.
This way.
MILES: James? Phillipa?
Look who's here.
Hey.
-Hey, guys! Hey! How are you? PHILLIPA: Daddy! Daddy!
JAMES: Daddy! COBB: How are you?
Look what l've been building!
-What are you building? JAMES: We're building a house on the cliff!
COBB: On the cliff? Come on, l want you to show me. Can you show me?
JAMES: Let's go. PHILLIPA: Come on, Daddy!