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A suspense thriller with supernatural overtones that revolves around a man who learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.
Director:
M. Night Shyamalan
Stars:
Bruce Willis,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Robin Wright
Dreams. What are they? An escape from reality or reality itself? Waking Life follows the dream(s) of one man and his attempt to find and discern the absolute difference between waking life and the dreamworld. While trying to figure out a way to wake up, he runs into many people on his way; some of which offer one sentence asides on life, others delving deeply into existential questions and life's mysteries. We become the main character. It becomes our dream and our questions being asked and answered. Can we control our dreams? What are they telling us about life? About death? About ourselves and where we come from and where we are going? The film does not answer all these for us. Instead, it inspires us to ask the questions and find the answers ourselves. Written by
Jeff Mellinger <jmell@uclink4.berkeley.edu>
The entire film was animated at 12 frames per second. The only portion that is truly 24 frames per second is the credits. See more »
Quotes
Boat Car Guy:
I feel like my transport should be an extension of my personality. And this is like my little window to the world... and every minute's a different show. I may not understand it. I may not even necessarily agree with it. But I'll tell you what I've accepted: just sort of glide along. You want to keep things on an even key, this is what I'm saying. You want to go with the flow. The sea refuses no river. The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving. It saves on ...
See more »
Crazy Credits
Because almost none of the characters are named, a clip from their appearance is shown during the credits. See more »
I recently viewed Waking Life By Richard Linklater and found it to be a truly unique viewing experience. The film deals with the idea of lucid dreams and the nature of our existence and many other philosophical questions. What struck me about the film was the way in which the superb animation was layered over the film. What this achieves is indeed a sense of a dreamlike viewing experience.Everyone has those dreams where they have a great sense of having gone somewhere and done something wonderful when they wake up. It may be difficult to remember details of your surroundings or what exactly you did but you know you were somewhere doing something. The jumpy nature and fluid characteristics of the animation really help to create that very same feeling while viewing the film.
I cannot stress the creative genius of Richard Linklater enough. He appears himself at the end of the movie and brings some closure to the main protagonists' dilemma of being trapped in this dream state. The film highlights the idea of how intertwined our dream lives and our Waking lives are. Memories that we once thought to be real often turn out to dreams and vice versa. Fans of philosophical debate and chat will be in heaven here however those who find themselves easily bored by such discussions may be skipping some scenes.
Finally, Waking Life is another chapter in the pioneering film-making of Richard Linklater. He has given us such gems like Before Sunrise and Dazed and Confused. He has achieved in bringing film back to its essentials.. performance and script.
87 of 110 people found this review helpful.
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I recently viewed Waking Life By Richard Linklater and found it to be a truly unique viewing experience. The film deals with the idea of lucid dreams and the nature of our existence and many other philosophical questions. What struck me about the film was the way in which the superb animation was layered over the film. What this achieves is indeed a sense of a dreamlike viewing experience.Everyone has those dreams where they have a great sense of having gone somewhere and done something wonderful when they wake up. It may be difficult to remember details of your surroundings or what exactly you did but you know you were somewhere doing something. The jumpy nature and fluid characteristics of the animation really help to create that very same feeling while viewing the film.
I cannot stress the creative genius of Richard Linklater enough. He appears himself at the end of the movie and brings some closure to the main protagonists' dilemma of being trapped in this dream state. The film highlights the idea of how intertwined our dream lives and our Waking lives are. Memories that we once thought to be real often turn out to dreams and vice versa. Fans of philosophical debate and chat will be in heaven here however those who find themselves easily bored by such discussions may be skipping some scenes.
Finally, Waking Life is another chapter in the pioneering film-making of Richard Linklater. He has given us such gems like Before Sunrise and Dazed and Confused. He has achieved in bringing film back to its essentials.. performance and script.