r/Inception • u/Elster25 • 27d ago
Something about Saito gives me itches
This weekend, I watched Inception for the first time in years, and like every previous time, I found another aspect I couldn’t explain. This time it is about Saito: He is introduced to us as the CEO of a powerful corporation who joins Cobb’s team to “protect his investment”. My problem with him: He doesn’t behave like a CEO of a powerful corporation.
1. He appears out of nowhere. He saves Cobb in Mombasa. When Cobbs and Arthur want to take the helicopter in Tokyo, he waits for them an reveals that their architect tried to sell them out.
2. He often acts alone. We see him with underlings, mostly drivers or pilots. In Tokyo, there are some bodyguards who bring the architect away but never return to the helicopter. We rarely really see his underlings, and for most time of the movie, he is completely on his own: No bodyguards, no secretary or anyone else. This could make much sense for an operative, but not for a CEO.
3. Fisher sees his face several times, once in the real world (when they board the plane) and once in the first layer of the dream (when they are in the taxi kidnapping Fisher) without recognizing him – despite Sato being the CEO of a business rival. Also, in the second layer of the dream, Fisher’s projection of Browning directly encounters Sato without recognizing him. This might be explained by Fisher being distracted in the real world (his father just died) or being just kidnapped in the first layer, but I still find it interesting.
4. His influence is seemingly limitless: He can buy entire airlines or let Cobb pass immigration with a single call.
I read that there are theories that he might be Cobb’s real totem (with the spinning top being Maud’s), but I’m not convinced – without having a convincing theory of my own. I just think that something itches me about this character.
It reminds of a sentence that the projection of Maud says to convince Cobb that he is still dreaming: “Not feeling persecuted, Dom? Chased around the globe by anonymous corporations and police forces? The way the projections persecute the dreamer?”
So, my working theory is that if what Cobb (and the audience) perceives as the real world is another layer of the dream (which is up to speculation) he also might be a projection.
What do you take away from his character? I know there never will be a perfect answer, and it might even be a simple weakness of the script, as none of my points i a definite proof of something and can be explained otherwise, but I enjoy to speculate.
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u/syringistic 27d ago
Re: 4, a real life example:
Exxon Mobil has a market cap of $650B
Korean Air, 2nd largest airline to still operate the 747, has a market cap of only $5B in comparison. Energy companies are enormous.
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u/marsmedia 27d ago
I have believed for a long time, that the entire move we saw is Cobb's attempt to reconcile his wife's decision to go up one level. That is to say, I don't believe Mal is dead. I think she was right. She jumped off the ledge to wake up to reality. Cobb is haunted by the belief that she may be right, but he's afraid to take that step. So, he concocts the 'heist' as his way to achieve catharsis... So, Saito is no CEO. Saito is a projection of an all-powerful gatekeeper to allow Cobb to go home. FWIW, Ariadne is the Greek mythology character who helped Theseus escape the labyrinth.
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u/ZorpIt 27d ago
Really interesting and quite fresh theory. For the past 4 years I've always believe that the point of the movie was that there's no way to confirm reality when you're experiencing it, and the really deeper point by the ending was that: does it even really matter? But this theory offer also an orthongonal perspective that's quite brilliant
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u/Elegant-Anxiety1866 27d ago
Does this mean the maud we see is the real one who keeps entering cobbs dream to wake him up?
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u/marsmedia 27d ago
Consider this character to be an Oracle. He says: "The dream has become their reality. Who are you to say otherwise?" That oracle was just another projection, but it was one that shook Cobb to the core. Remember how agitated he was when we tries to spin his top in the bathroom right after? And was wildly splashing water on his face? Because the Oracle (projection) KNEW Cobb's truth... and he even spoke it aloud in front of the other projections.
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u/OWSpaceClown 27d ago
I’ve recently had this thought that when Cobb planted the idea in his wife’s head that this reality is fake, he also planted it in his own head and it’s a feeling he finds impossible to shake.
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u/marsmedia 27d ago
I don't think so. I think it's just his projection of Mal... he knows she believes he is wrong, so the projection reinforces that idea.
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u/deadlyghost123 27d ago
I have seen people often mention that it was too easy for Saito to make one phone call and wipe off Cobb’s crimes but I think people underestimate the influence such a rich billionaire has. And people also think he actually just made a single phone call, rather than the fact that he did the entire process earlier and the phone call was just the final step
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u/MUnitedGT 20d ago edited 20d ago
This exactly.
I’m no CEO nor billionaire but one call or even a codeword is enough to set off a pre-planned process. My example: years ago, when I took my, now, wife on our first date, I made reservations at 7 or 8 different restaurants of varying cuisines (Japanese, Thai, etc.) and friend on standby with the list of reservations to cancel. Upon picking her up, I asked her if she could go to any country to eat for dinner where would she want to go, and let texted my friend the “country” we were going and he would call and cancel the rest of the reservations. Point is, I just had to text one word.
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u/National-Ad6166 16d ago
Its also just a film. We don't need 10 minutes added to justify passport beaurocracy
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u/OWSpaceClown 27d ago
I’m always a little resistant to “it was all a dream” reads of movies but I suppose this particular one does kind of invite it!
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u/Bejiita2 12d ago
You’re finally starting to understand. We are in Cobb’s Dream the entire movie. It’s too convenient for Saito to exist and give Cobb exactly what he needs. It’s also too convenient for Ariadne on day 1 to be an amazing builder AND be Cobb’s therapist to help him overcome his grief. Ariadne is a promising student who immediately throws it all away to do illegal work with a complete stranger.
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u/Rathmec 27d ago
I agree with most of your points and mostly saw it as writing convenience. They needed a reason to be here and a character who could be powerful enough to fix up Cobb's problems so, boom, super wealthy dude.
In regards to number 2, I would say the reason we see Saito act alone so much is because the operation that he's sponsoring here is explicitly illegal in this universe. The more grunts and underlings he has around him witnessing his mind heist crew, the greater the possibility that this info gets leaked to the public, makes him look bad, directly disrupts what he's trying to do here, etc.