My take on this movie

It's hard to know where to start..but here is my opinion.

I believe Meanwhile City is a metaphor for madness. It's where people who are mentally ill go to escape reality...which is why Emilia can "see" it, too. The janitor is like a god-figure, there to guide the 2 young people (Emilia and Milo) together. The reason Sally looks like Emilia is because she was following Milo around in a red wig as part of her art project. Milo somehow "absorbs" this, and when he "sees" Sally, she looks like Emilia.

David is suffering from psychosis as a result of the war in Iraq. The young girl who was murdered was in fact, his sister, who according to his father died in a tragic accident. David is delusional and thinks his father is somehow responsible, and wants to seek revenge by luring his father to the restaurant to kill him.

Emilia was sexually abused by her father, and her loss of self (and struggle to cope) is why she is descending into madness. She begins flirting with death because she is so depressed...she's uncertain if she wants to live.

When the janitor says, "it's about the people you haven't met yet." He's referring to Milo. It appears Milo and Emilia are fated to be together. At the end when Sally says, "I's almost time, can't you feel it?" and the janitor disappears, it means things have fallen into place. Emilia and Milo have met. That appears to be a major plotline in the movie.

In the end David realizes he is mad, and trying to kill his father. He kills himself. When Emilia looks around and "sees" Meanwhile City, I believe she is getting a glimpse into her own descent into madness, and the possibility that if she gets lost inside herself (as the janitor warned) that she could become "blind" (no longer able to see reality). I believe this is a major turning point in Emilia's life. Milo will be able to help save her.

I did feel extremely sad for David's father, who has now lost his wife and both children. There is a theme of "why do bad things happen to good people?" and sadly, there is no happy ending for David's father.

Just my rambling thoughts.