'Ink' Deconstructed *SPOILERS*

First, let me preface this by saying I'm not religious, I'm just deconstructing a movie.
So, the first time I watched this movie, I was blown away. First film I've watched since "2001" that I immediately watched again, and again, and...
I've analyzed literally every second of this film, and let me tell you- this is a film you can analyze every second of. It's a perfect allegory; the filmmakers left very little to theory or debate- once you figure out the main allegory and accept it, every second falls into place and makes perfect sense. I'll share what I've learned- perhaps you guys can help me with the parts I haven't quite gotten.

"Ink" is an allegory for Christianity- specifically a Trinitarian kind (I'm inclined to think Lutheran, given the references within the film). Sorry, don't blame me, I know you guys want this to be "The Matrix" and it's hard to accept that anything this brilliant could have such a "disappointing" message (not my opinion, I grasped it from these boards), but it's true. Once you accept that fact, this film becomes very easy to deconstruct, and everything falls nicely into place. I'll break down the major characters and plot points, and you can see what I mean.

One more thing- you can't look at this film like a normal movie with a plot, story arcs, etc- it's not. It's an allegory, or "running metaphor", and the "plot" as such really comes second to that- it's just a means to delivering a message. With that being said, here's my take:


* "John" is the everyman, a soul searching for God who has gone off track somewhere.
* "Ink" is a representation of sin within the everyman- an "Ink blot" on the soul. He represents the part of John that is lost, confused, angry, violent- he's the result of bad choices, influenced by the "Incubi".
* The "Incubi" are demons. They influence us subconsciously, in our dreams and throughout the day by whispering in our ears, pushing us towards doubt, anger, fear, Sin, and ultimately death.
* The "Storytellers" are angels, influencing us to hope, do the right thing, and believe in God.
* The Head Incubus is Satan.
* The "Pathfinder" is the Holy Spirit. He leads by faith, not by sight. He's separate from the angels, more powerful. He notices the patterns within all life, and is the only one capable of affecting that pattern from the Spiritual world. The music, the beat- put it together. Accept it and you'll see it's undeniable.
* "Liev" is God, most likely the Christ aspect of God, in Angelic form. (Liev is veil backwards, by the way, which is a metaphor for "the veil that was torn" when Christ died, as well as the illusions of Sin being removed by the Truth). This is blatantly stated throughout the film- we see her walking through heaven, always serene, playing with children, we see her meditating in heaven at the same time she's fighting Ink (omnipresence), we see her in communion with the other angels while somewhere else (omniscience). She somehow knows exactly where Ink and Emma are, and is able to find them, while the other angels get owned and left in his dust. She keeps referring to Emma as a lion, as well (Christ is the "Lion of Judah")- this threw me off a bit, making me think perhaps Emma is Christ and Liev is God the Father, but there's not enough evidence to support that. She sacrifices herself for Ink, which results in his "Salvation". The demons are terrified of her. The greedy "in-betweener" calls her "The Big Prize". I could seriously go all day- it's so obvious once you accept it.
* "Emma"'s up for grabs- the only thing I can think of is that she represents innocence.
* Now then, why Trinitarian? First of all, because the Holy Spirit and God(Christ) are represented by separate entities (I'm assuming God the Father doesn't make an appearance per se, but if I missed something, please fill me in). Also, there's a Purgatory, which is a Trinitarian concept. Ink does most of his traveling within this Purgatory. We see souls "in-between" heaven and hell, here- stuck because they haven't been able to let go of something from their lives. "The Collector" represents Greed, obviously ("mine, mine, mine"), and lust towards Liev. "The Bride" represents Vanity, Jealousy, etc. ("How they all love to see me smile). Note that both of these entities are deeply affected by Liev.
Once you've started noticing these things, you'll see little moments you didn't notice before- John is on his knees praying for Emma at the end as the angels battle demons- this moment of prayer is what allows the Holy Spirit to communicate with the other angels and call for help- basically everything culminates to that point, and that little moment of prayer is what turned the tide of the entire event. There are literally hundreds of other little moments throughout the film that support this thesis.
I actually believe there is an even deeper metaphor beneath this- that the plot itself is really just a metaphor and not to be taken literally at all, but I have only my opinions to support that. I think the wife is meant to symbolize God in John's life- he knew love, then fell away into the world of work, drinking, etc, lost love (God), and then had to be completely redeemed through the sacrifice of Christ for his sins. He had temporary love, and was looking to fill the holes with anything else he could find, until he finally accepted the "True" love of God.
I love this movie. I don't care if it's Christian- it's freaking brilliant. "The Matrix" was a straight up Buddhist metaphor, by the way. This is on that same level, maybe better.
Oh and the whole time thing- it's pretty straightforward. Ink was the result of John's suicide in one potential future. It's said over and over that time is different in the spiritual world- for them time isn't a straight line- think of it as God looking down on time and seeing past, present, and future as a whole, instead of moving with it. Once John accepts God and decides to save Emma (in the "present" as John, and the "future" as Ink), suicide is no longer a potential future for him, and so the "Ink" timeline disappears completely (literally- Ink and Emma dissolve from the screen as soon as the decision is made).
Anyway, thanks for reading. Let me know what you think and what I missed!