Do not open or read if you have not seen the movie and are planning on doing so

For those of you who have seen the film, a few questions.....

Reality = On board Plane
Stage 1 = In Minibus
Stage 2 = In Elevator
Stage 3 = In snow compound
Stage 4 = Cobb & Mals dream world
Stage 5 or limbo world = Cobb waking up on beach and meeting with old Sato


The ending with the spinning top still spinning shows Cobb is still in dream state. I understand Cobb chose to stay in stage 4 as he knew Sato had died in stage 1 which in turn would scupper his plans for freedom back on American soil. He chose to stay in Stage 4 in order to see his children. I take it his choice to stay in stage 4 limbo resulted in his 'death' in stage 1 as he did not wake up in the minibus as it hit the water? Everyone else did?

Question is, If both Sato and Cobb 'died' in stage 1 then why did Sato age and Cobb didn't?

2nd question is, did the kicks back to reality happen? Why did they wake up on the minibus as it was sinking and not on the plane? I.e they dragged themselves from the minibus and then started chatting on the shore

If the kick back to reality did happen what happened to Cobbs body, did he and Sato become 'vegetables' on the plane on awakening? If so, surely Cobb would have been arrested on suspicion of his wifes murder and both Cobb and Sato would have been in dream state?

Brilliant film, I just cannot understand these parts.

Anyone share any thoughts?

 

Sato went into the limbo before Cobb, and because of the relative time difference, he aged during this time.

One thing that made no sense to me was when Fischer was shot and killed (at least temporarily) yet they had previously stated that the army was generated by Fischer's own subconscious - this army should have disappeared whilst he was dead.

It's possible that everything at the end is Cobb's ideal outcome and could well be within limbo, hence Nolan left the open ended question of his spinning top.

 

Aaargh Ive given up thinking too much about this film after googling the day after seeing it and reading entire theses on it.

My thought was he was still dreaming at the end after someone else commented on that his childen never aged and even where the same clothes as they did when he first left them (and that he had memories of).

Simon