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Mood:
- StylizedCaptivatingAtmosphericCleverContemplativeOffbeatTense
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Plot:
- Human NatureHopesImaginaryLifestyleMind and SoulSupernaturalTwentysomething Life
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Genres:
- AnimationFantasyIndependentExperimentalDrama
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Time/Period:
- Contemporary21st Century
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Place:
- Texas
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Praise:
- Award WinnerCritically AcclaimedOriginal
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Humor:
- Satire
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Style:
- Ensemble CastSurrealTalky
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Attitudes:
- SeriousSemi Fantastic
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Look:
- Computer Animated
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Flag:
- Mild Violent Content
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Waking Life, 2001
English
USA
Profile of Waking Life
The mood of Waking Life is stylized, captivating, and tense. The plot centers around human nature, imaginary themes, and supernatural occurences. It features satire. Waking Life is an independent, fantasy, and animation movie. Stylistically, it is experimental, is surreal, and stars an ensemble cast. In approach, it is serious. Waking Life is set in Texas. It happens in contemporary times. Visually, it is computer animated. Waking Life is known for being original, an award winner, and critically acclaimed. Note that it includes mild violent content.
Summary of Waking Life
Director Richard Linklater presents this computer-animated, dreamlike, meandering film about a college-age man (Wiley Wiggins) who floats in and out of a series of philosophical discussions and ethereal experiences, meeting an interesting cast of characters along the way. Each character that Wiley meets engages him in an existential discussion. Wiley listens, observes, and occasionally responds. Then he glumly shuffles off to his next encounter. At times, he wakes up in his bed and rubs his eyes, appearing to start a new day. But eventually viewers learn that Wiley is dreaming throughout the film, and is trying to learn to control his dreams--and accomplish lucid dreaming, or simply wake up.
Visually, Waking Life is nothing short of fantastic. Linklater stays true to his Indie style--jerky camera, drifting gaze, and steady head shots that allow non-actors to talk straight into the camera. To achieve the floating feeling of the dream sequences, he first tried taking aerial shots from a helicopter, then opted for the smoother effect of a hot air balloon. He shot the film on digital video, edited it, then called on 30 animators to finish it. The characters in the film move and gesticulate like live action, but they are animated with odd color schemes and surreal lines that make them cartoony caricatures. Waking Life is a superb work that should be applauded for its atmospheric elements (lovely images of New York and Austin), its amusing bohemian dialogues, and its unique animation.
Details
| Language: | English |
| Country: | USA |
| Release date: | 7 March 2002 |
| Runtime: | 100 min |
Cast and Crew
as Main Character
as Jesse
as Celine
Photos
Clips
Critics Reviews
Chicago Tribune
The film is truly special, truly different -- a wondrous talky roundelay about and for people who love life.
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- by: Michael Wilmington
Entertainment Weekly
An amazing thing -- a work of cinematic art in which form and structure pursues the logic-defying (parallel) subjects of dreaming and moviegoing.
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- by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
Users Reviews
A unique and unusual film. Dreamy and philosophical!
- 24.August.2008
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- by: soph20
- soph20 rated this movie6/10Okay
