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Title: Waking Life (2001)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Trevor Jack Brooks | ... | Young Boy Playing Paper Game |
| Lorelei Linklater | ... | Young Girl Playing Paper Game | |
| Wiley Wiggins | ... | Main Character | |
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Glover Gill | ... | Accordion Player |
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Lara Hicks | ... | Violin Player |
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Ames Asbell | ... | Viola Player |
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Leigh Mahoney | ... | Viola Player |
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Sara Nelson | ... | Cello Player |
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Jeanine Attaway | ... | Piano Player |
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Erik Grostic | ... | Bass Player |
| Bill Wise | ... | Boat Car Guy | |
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Robert C. Solomon | ... | Philosophy Professor |
| Kim Krizan | ... | Herself | |
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Eamonn Healy | ... | Shape-Shifting Man |
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J.C. Shakespeare | ... | Burning Man |
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>
This is one of the most thought provoking films I've ever seen. It's also visually stunning and perfectly acted: every single one of these people seem to be just giving their own opinions as if you were overhearing/having a meaningful conversation with them.
We can chalk this up to the genius of Linklater who over the years has shown not only the pretentiously humorous coffee house crowd cliches but also the searching, often deeply insightful side of our generation that the media overlooked when we were dubbed slackers. In films he has written: "Slacker" and "Before Sunrise" and in his films of stage plays Bogosian's brilliant, Chekhovian "SubUrbia" and the faintly melodramatic "Tape", Linklater has always been fascinated with the question of what we should doing with our lives. Our responsibility is to contribute something lasting and meaningful to our society. But what exactly is that? Where and when should I do it? Who with? How do I know if I've really found it? Why is it so important again, anyway?
I saw this movie for the first time late last night and 5 minutes before it started I had fallen asleep and was hoping I'd be able to make it all the way through the film. From the first frame I was riveted and completely awake and remained so even after it was over; contemplating all the myriad viewpoints the film had thrown at me.
This movie is so exciting and bursting with ideas that I'm going to buy the DVD as soon as I possibly can and watch it over and over trying to absorb it all.
See this film. It will remind you of how thrilling it is to be an active thinking, feeling member of the human race.