The movie

One of the best films by visionary director Paul Verhoeven is Total Recall.
In addition to Verhoeven’s brilliant direction, this science fiction classic is also one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most outstanding films. His charismatic portrayal of Douglan Quaid/Hauser has a decisive influence on the film and makes it a timeless work of film history.
As was customary at the time, Total Recall placed great emphasis on a well thought-out plot. Even though Philip K. Dick’s short story „We Can Remember It for You Wholesale“ provided the basis, Verhoeven succeeded in transforming it into a complex and exciting screenplay. Particularly noteworthy: the practical special effects have withstood the test of time better than most computer animations of the late 90s. The handmade set design, the animatronic effects and the minimalism in the use of CGI contribute to the timeless quality of the film.

The question

Much has already been said and written about Total Recall, countless reviews and essays shed light on the movie from every conceivable perspective, but I would now like to address what is probably the movie’s most important question.
No, not whether it would be practical to have a third hand when visiting Mary. But rather:

Are the events real – or just an implanted memory?

Hint I

Quaid’s dream at the beginning.
At the beginning of the movie, Quaid sees a dream in which he is on Mars with a woman – Melina. This dream clearly takes place in reality before he goes to Rekall. But if the later events are only a memory, how can he dream about Melina beforehand? Dreams about Mars are explainable – after all, the planet is a frequent topic in the media of the future. But the fact that he dreams precisely about Melina, and that the two have an intimate connection, raises questions.
This dream only makes sense if the later plot is real and Quaid is actually Hauser, who was on a secret undercover mission with Melina.
Ergo: everything is real!

Hint II

The scene at Rekall.
When Quaid books his “agent trip” at Rekall, the salesman describes the events that take place later in the movie with astonishing accuracy: Mutants with two heads, alien artifacts, an undercover mission and the saving of the planet. This could be dismissed as coincidence, as these elements are typical of science fiction adventures. But then something interesting happens: when choosing a dream partner, a picture of Melina appears – and this happens in the “real” world before the implantation begins.
How did Rekall get hold of a picture of Melina? Did they scan prostitutes on Mars in order to use their images? That is rather unlikely. The more plausible explanation is that this scene shows that the entire story was staged by Rekall. Melina is part of the artificial memory that is implanted in Quaid.
Ergo: Everything is a memory implantation!

The Conundrum

Both approaches are logical and convincing, but they are mutually exclusive. Of course, one could pick apart the details of both theories: Perhaps Quaid saw Melina in a report about Mars in the background and unconsciously integrated her into his dreams. But that still doesn’t explain the image in Rekall. Or perhaps Quaid, under the influence of drugs, has a hallucination in Rekall and the woman he sees is actually someone else entirely. But even that remains speculative.

Ultimately, the film remains as open to interpretation as the question of whether Deckard in Blade Runner is a replicant (no), or the mystery of the three shells in Demolition Man.
Total Recall invites hours of discussion and philosophical reflection without ever providing a definitive answer.

With this in mind:
Kuato lives!