"Plotless", "meaningless", "boring". These are just a few adjectives you may hear used to described Waking Life. This is a prime example of a 'hit or miss' film. And while most people will probably side with the three previously mentioned adjectives when describing this film, I call it "fascinating".
The film simply follows the thoughts/dreams of a wandering Wiley Wiggins, who can't seem to wake up out of his dreams - the basis of which, consist mainly of random philosophically-themed discourses. There are times when he 'wakes up', only to realise that he has only woken up from one dream into another.
The discourses, which are presented in many different formats, are all intriguing. Ranging in topics from love, perception and connection, to the theory of evolution, discussions about possibilities during dreams, and death. Picking a favourite is almost impossible to do because I enjoy them all equally, but for the sake of choosing, I'd say I most enjoyed the very last spiel where the guy tells Wiggins about his own dreams about his dog and the land of the dead.
This rotoscope style animation is used to perfection here, giving the film an actual dream-like feel to it. The atmosphere is perfectly established, and Linklater manages to make this seemingly random experiment most impressive. This is easily one of my favourite animated movies of all-time.
This movie made me think, and offered opinions on many different aspects of life and human existence. And while I may personally disagree with some of the commentary, I can still appreciate the intellect from which it was derived. Linklater uses the animation to complement the story, whether he is contorting the face of a speaker into images of what he/she is speaking about, or simply adding animated images to the scene that illustrate the speaker's words.
Waking Life is a journey, and by the time you get through it, you will most definitely be presented with a fresh outlook on a few topics of interest. As one of my personal favourite directors, Linklater does what I like best about him here. He offers a film that is able to challenge you through conversation, while keeping you entertained. Complete with a score that is so important to the film that it almost feels like one of the characters, this is quite simply, a masterpiece.
© 2007 Kim Bartlett
The film simply follows the thoughts/dreams of a wandering Wiley Wiggins, who can't seem to wake up out of his dreams - the basis of which, consist mainly of random philosophically-themed discourses. There are times when he 'wakes up', only to realise that he has only woken up from one dream into another.
The discourses, which are presented in many different formats, are all intriguing. Ranging in topics from love, perception and connection, to the theory of evolution, discussions about possibilities during dreams, and death. Picking a favourite is almost impossible to do because I enjoy them all equally, but for the sake of choosing, I'd say I most enjoyed the very last spiel where the guy tells Wiggins about his own dreams about his dog and the land of the dead.
This rotoscope style animation is used to perfection here, giving the film an actual dream-like feel to it. The atmosphere is perfectly established, and Linklater manages to make this seemingly random experiment most impressive. This is easily one of my favourite animated movies of all-time.
This movie made me think, and offered opinions on many different aspects of life and human existence. And while I may personally disagree with some of the commentary, I can still appreciate the intellect from which it was derived. Linklater uses the animation to complement the story, whether he is contorting the face of a speaker into images of what he/she is speaking about, or simply adding animated images to the scene that illustrate the speaker's words.
Waking Life is a journey, and by the time you get through it, you will most definitely be presented with a fresh outlook on a few topics of interest. As one of my personal favourite directors, Linklater does what I like best about him here. He offers a film that is able to challenge you through conversation, while keeping you entertained. Complete with a score that is so important to the film that it almost feels like one of the characters, this is quite simply, a masterpiece.
© 2007 Kim Bartlett
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