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In the movie Inception, why does Cobb's passport not get stamped properly at the airport in the final scene i.e, the date was missing.

Was it really intended and is there any implicit reason for that or was it just a flaw?

Cobb's passport page showing stamp and no date

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    I wish I could answer this, but I think at most it is just a minor flaw.
    – iandotkelly
    Mar 5, 2012 at 4:19
  • @iandotkelly,Probably..but Christopher Nolan is such a great director, I think he might had some reason for this.Further, I keep on searching the internet. Mar 5, 2012 at 4:47

2 Answers 2

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First of all, please note that this answer is not based on facts and is just my personal observation.

As you have said in a comment, Christopher Nolan is too great a director to allow minor flaws as this in his movies. (And I guess it would have been easier to stamp a real seal on the passport than one without a date).

Inception is almost completely based on dreams within dreams and in different times. So if a specific date has been stamped on Cobb's passport, it would have given definitive evidence on the exact date and reality Cobb was currently in. And it would have more or less succeeded in lowering the confusion level of the audience.

So my conclusion is that this was intentionally done so as to leave the audience further in the dark as this also is very unreal-looking (to have your passport stamped without a date) and confusing about the "real" reality.

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    +1 for your answer, but there also appears to be another stamp in his passport that does have a date. Though not a fresh stamp, the fact that it does have a date is puzzling.
    – Bernard
    Mar 7, 2012 at 1:23
  • @Bernard Yeah, I didn't notice that. It sure is puzzling though..
    – Roshnal
    Mar 7, 2012 at 7:20
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According to IMDB, Nolan may have wanted to show that the whole film is a dream.

Found out the following stuff quoted in the IMDB FAQ after a long enough googling;

At the end when they get off the plane and Cobb gets his passport stamped, the date is missing, suggesting that the time frame is nonexistent.

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    Anyone can edit IMDB, so this is really no better than anyone else's fan theory.\ Jul 14, 2015 at 5:07

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