Inception Scene: You're Waiting for a Train [HD]

"You're waiting for a train..." scene from Inception

[jonlevert]

One of the coolest movie scenes in recent history. 

[juliantapia]

That train 'riddle' is one of the most painfully romantic things I've heard in my life, and it's a line I'll always come back to listen to

[NineLegend]

This film is truly an inspiration. One of the most brilliantly conceived concepts. One of my main sources of creative inspiration. A masterpiece.

[CountDaedalus]

As someone who was stopped from jumping in front of a train... this was very difficult to watch but at the same time, I’m glad it exists.

[gregmcgregginton]

His totem wasnt the spinning thing. He says it to Ariadne, he said that that totem was Mal's. They said before that scene that a person can only have one totem for itself, and no one can use it. His totem is his wedding ring; watch how he uses it when he's in a dream, but when he's not, the ring is gone.

[abbyjulo]

house inside a house... dream within a dream....

[jayliu]

I just realized Mal locking up the top is like her rejecting the fact that she and Cobb were actually dreaming. This movie is so brilliantly constructed I find out new things about it every time I rewatch it

[HVBRSoF]

it’s not really a riddle. more of a metaphor. you’ll only really understand this when you find someone you really love. i’ll try to break it down piece by piece.
“You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away.” the train is a metaphor for a journey, specifically, your life’s journey.

“You know where you hope the train will take you, but you can't be sure.” Same with life. You have your expectations of where you want your life to lead, but you can never be sure.

“Yet it doesn't matter. Now, tell me why?” As with life, even if you don’t know where your life will lead you, it doesn’t matter, because as the answer to the riddle says: “we’ll be together!”

You’ll understand this when you find someone you really love. The destination doesn’t matter as long as you’re with someone you love. The film makes this idea even more powerful when you consider that they were waiting for the train not to board it, but to get run over by it. In this instance, the train stands not for life’s journey, but the end of it. They were waiting for death, not sure if there is an afterlife or not, or if they will really come out of the dream or not, or if they will die right there - but they’re taking that leap of faith, knowing that they’re taking this leap of faith TOGETHER.
that’s the meaning of this riddle and that’s what I got out of it.

if you take this one step further, you’ll realize that the train not only stands for life’s journey, but also for destiny. the train has a set destination. that’s what it means when they say “you know where you hope the train will take you.” but the riddle adds “but you can never be sure.” same with life. we’re never really sure if predestination is real or not (or if we can change our life’s course), yet again, none of these matter, because in the end, you’re with someone you love.

this is highlighted more in the movie: Frequencies. OXV The Manual. (SPOILERS) In that movie, a couple finds out that everything in the universe is predestined, that they had no free will. The movie ends with them realizing they had no free will and that in reality, they weren’t really in love with each other, they were just destined to fall in love because that was their destiny (remember, that to be TRUE LOVE, it has to be of free will, right? otherwise, you’re just a robot acting like you’re in love) yet they gave no two fucks about it. for them it doesn’t matter if the love they feel is an illusion or a preset command given by the universe or whoever programmed or created everything. they couldn’t just give a fuck. in the end, they are together.

[lifeisnotaproblem]

"It doesn't matter, because we'll be together."

[emilyandthesea]

You never know whether or not he's still dreaming at the end because he doesn't wait long enough to see whether the top falls. The point is, up until then he would always wait to check before he'd look to see his children, questioning his reality, but he walks away from the top to show that he no longer cares whether it's "real" or a dream. Mal made the point that deep in his subconscious that he no longer knows the difference, anyway. He'd waited so long to see his children, so he does.

[Platschu]

It is very hard to watch this scene, because my first love has killed herself and she jumped in front of a train. So I can understand perfectly how painful is this scene. I don't even know why do I torture myself here. :'(

[hannahdoesacting]

As someone who just did a philosophy seminar on this movie. I've really formed a deep appreciation for this scene and what it means to her.

[gilgamesh]

1:48 is when the train quote starts. ;)

[TheRodT]

it still makes me cry. just as I did in the theatre

[PahpriosGaming]

Some people say that the metaphor is to relate to life or a relationship with someone you love but they are totally undermining the complexity of the movie. This is not true.

The metaphor is Cobb reaffirming the idea that Mal's reality isn't real. The train that will take them far away is death, and Cobb is telling her that the hopeful destination is to wake up into reality, however she can't be so certain. She believes her dream to be reality, because the thing she chose to forget was that she was dreaming.

The metaphor is to bring her comfort in the notion of committing suicide, and to have faith in Cobb. The last bit, "it doesn't matter because we'll be together" is saying even if they die, they die together. By actually waking up, Mal still had two things - one, the fact she rejected former reality by hiding it away, and two, the revelation her former reality (dream) wasn't real. She is now uncertain what is and isn't real, and the metaphor has effectively screwed her over. Rewatch the scene and look at her facial expression. She is clearly afraid to die, and is putting faith in Cobb that she will wake up.

This is the depth of the movie. When she woke up, she was certain she was still dreaming, and she tried to get Cobb to commit suicide with her again. She does but Cobb doesn't because he is sure he isn't dreaming. However we get MANY points in the movie which HINT to him still dreaming. This is why he frantically uses his totem at times during the movie, to affirm if he is or isn't dreaming.

[barnbrat]

This movie freaks me out. I watched it like 4 times and I still cant figure it out
My brain hurtss

[deansholl]

The whole movie is him being stuck in Limbo. It starts with him washed up on the beach in Limbo.... Mal never died. She committed suicide in a Level 3 dream to get out.
That’s why he never shoots her in Limbo to escape....he’s stuck there dreaming on all levels.

[exodus]

I used to scream this at my mate who took ket on the regular, used to freak him out to fuck .

[jamespoole]

Within the context of this film, the train represents Cobb’s fears, insecurities and guilty desires. In simple words, the trains riddle suggests that Cobb should feel content with aimlessly wandering the world with Mal, a journey that juxtaposes the clear goal in mind that he has in reaching his kids (there are several more contrasts introduced to reinforce this, such as the train against the plane taking him to his kids and Mal against his kids). Furthermore, both the train and Mal have an extremely disruptive presence in Cobbs dream, both threatening to compromise the mission with the chaos and disruption they bring (again, Mals violence juxtaposed with the kids innocence), alluding to the deterioration that will come to Cobbs life should he choose to commit to this path of destruction.

[oneMusic]

"Because we'll be together!" 😢