Waking Life (2001)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer (WGA):

Richard Linklater (written by)

Release Date:

7 March 2002 (Australia)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Plot:

A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.

Plot Keywords:

Mind | Epistemology | Dream Sequence | Nuevo Tango | Life

Awards:

5 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Trevor Jack Brooks	...	Young Boy Playing Paper Game
Lorelei Linklater	...	Young Girl Playing Paper Game
Wiley Wiggins	...	Main Character
Glover Gill	...	Accordion Player
Lara Hicks	...	Violin Player
Ames Asbell	...	Viola Player
Leigh Mahoney	...	Viola Player
Sara Nelson	...	Cello Player
Jeanine Attaway	...	Piano Player
Erik Grostic	...	Bass Player
Bill Wise	...	Boat Car Guy
Robert C. Solomon	...	Philosophy Professor
Kim Krizan	...	Herself
Eamonn Healy	...	Shape-Shifting Man
J.C. Shakespeare	...	Burning Man

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violent images.

Runtime:

99 min | Argentina:100 min | Australia:101 min | Germany:100 min | Spain:101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:R (certificate #38276) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-7 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

This film was shot primarily in Austin, Texas. Not Houston, Texas.

Quotes:

Man on the Train: Hey, are you a dreamer?
Wiley: Yeah.
Man on the Train: I haven't seen too many around lately. Things have been tough lately for dreamers. They say dreaming is dead, no one does it anymore. It's not dead it's just that it's been forgotten, removed from our language. Nobody teaches it so nobody knows it exists...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Anatomy of a Scene: Waking Life" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Mi Otra Mitad de Naranja

Linklater brings us deeper.....

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.