OPENING SEQUENCES AND ENIGMA - 'INCEPTION'

The second film I am going to be analysing regarding introducing enigma and how this affects the audience is 'Inception'. 'Inception' is a Sci Fi/Heist film. 

The opening sequence of 'Inception' does an extremely good job of presenting enigma and foreshadowing mystery for the rest of the film. It does this by many things but especially by only giving fragments of the narrative and it has a dream-like atmosphere. this sets the tone for the complex storytelling that follows. Firstly, it begins with an ambiguous setting. It opens with Cobb washed up on a beach, disorientated and confused as to where he is. The setting is unfamiliar to the audience and to the character, giving a bonding experience as they will both try to figure out what is happening/what has happened together. The lack of context raises questions from the audience like who is he? where is he? what has happened to him? Secondly, there is mysterious dialogue. The first words said are not only in a different language, but the audience are not quite sure what he is talking about. This continues to make the reader question the motives of this character, and who they are. The film also uses nonlinear storytelling which is established from the opening sequence. This first scene is actually from much later in the film but the audience doesn't know this yet creating disorientation and curiosity of how this will connect to the rest of the story. The nonlinear storyline creates a puzzle for the audience to figure out which encourages them to get more involved with the plot. It effectively draws the audience in from the beginning by creating an atmosphere of enigma and mystery. The scenes establish central themes such as reality, memories and dreams.