2001 Directed by Richard Linklater
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
Ethan Hawke Julie Delpy Wiley Wiggins Bill Wise Alex Jones Steven Soderbergh Ken Webster Charles Gunning Lorelei Linklater Trevor Jack Brooks Glover Gill Lara Hicks Ames Asbell Leigh Mahoney Sara Nelson Jeanine Attaway Erik Grostick Robert C. Solomon Kim Krizan Eamonn Healy J.C. Shakespeare David Sosa Otto Hofmann Aklilu Gebrewold Carol Dawson Lisa Moore Steve Fitch Louis Mackey Alex Nixon Show All…
Line Research Fox Searchlight Pictures Thousand Words Flat Black Films Detour Filmproduction Independent Film Channel
Waking Life: Prisonnier du rêve, Пробуждение жизни, Valve-unessa, Despertando a la vida
Humanity and the world around us Faith and religion journey, scientific, documentary, humanity or earth death, profound, symbolism, philosophical or vision documentary, fascinating, sad, emotional or heartbreaking weird, surreal, bizarre, dream or confusing artists, biography, musician, songs or emotional Show All…
>Be me
>At Dimple Records
>Planned on purchasing 'Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar'
>In line, see a gorgeous clerk
>Looks like Cybill Sheperd
>Long ass line
>Finally the penultimate person at the front of the line
>I take that back, she looks more like Ingrid Bergman
>Hear her mention her favorite director - Richard Linklater
>Get nervous
>Spaghetti falls out of my pockets
>I run out of line, nearly slipping on the spaghetti
>Picked up 'Waking Life', trying to impress her with my taste in film
>Discard the Disney masterpiece
>Line is shorter when I get back in
>Getting more nervous
>Start farting
>Shouldn't have eaten Taco Bell for breakfast
>See her laugh at her co-worker
>Her smile is…
I briefly checked the letterbox'd page for this before deciding on whether or not to watch it and glanced at the top review - "The most pretentious film ever made" - it solemnly says, half a star. Interest is piqued. The synopsis says "A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe", erection rising, well, whatever could this film be.
The number one rule of lucid dreaming they tell you is never lose sight of your goal or your ass will be teleported to the moon or some shit. The meat is all here but the lines are constantly shifting without telling anybody, the notion that there ever were any lines…
Everyone knows what it's like to dream, but for some reason it's really hard to translate that feeling on screen. So far only Satoshi Kon and Richard Linklater succeeded.
i kinda wanna give this 5 stars for how good of a watch this was but on the other hand it is just npc dialogue for an hour and 40 minutes
Socrates said "The unexamined life is not worth living," but WAKING LIFE suggests that it is impossible to live without self-examination, that dreams are a way to take a break from consciousness to ruminate on it. I saw WAKING LIFE when I was 18 or 19, freshly into film and suffering from an acute case of being a college freshman. I called it pretentious, pointless, self-absorbed, and all the other adjectives young people use without a hint of self-awareness when they confront something that is (at least for the moment) insurmountably difficult and decide to play a game of chicken instead of just backing down.
I'm mature enough now to be upfront and admit that a number of the treatises…
The worst mistake that you can make is to think you're alive when really you're asleep in life's waiting room.
Who would've thought 100 minutes of animated people talking about existential life questions would be so fascinating? Certainly one of the most thought-provoking and intriguing films I've ever seen.
70/100
Third viewing, first since 2002. A lot has happened to me since then, dreamwise—I now have occasional lucid dreams*, which had never happened to me back then, and have also experienced multiple consecutive false awakenings, which really is disturbing as hell. (The factoid mentioned here about adjusting light levels is 100% true, by the way. When I suspect that I'm still dreaming, after seeming to awaken in my bed, I head for the bathroom and try to turn on the light, which never works and usually wakes me up instantly for real. What's more, the house is always darker than it should be, though it's hard to perceive that in the moment.) So I identified more with Wiggins' feeling…
(The Average Joe’s Movie Club Cast)
I hate to say it, but it was all I could think about while watching this ... why did Richard Linklater decide to remake 'Slacker' as a pretentious animated movie?
"I mean, I'm not saying that you don't know what you're talking about, but I don't know what you're talking about."
I remember getting so annoyed while watching the first part of 'My Dinner with Andre', when it was just the one guy talking about all the amazing things he had done. Well, All of Waking Life is just like that but with a series of one-sided philosophy lectures coming at you one after another after another ... and it does not even leave…
Imagine that you found yourself at a speed dating event, where all your potential suitors were philosophy majors in college, and the topic of discussion was their favorite concept about the human condition. If you can picture yourself in such a situation, then you pretty much have the gist of Waking Life.
The film follows nameless character who finds himself in discussions with a variety of people that range from things such as communication and understanding between two individuals to topics such as free will and lucid dreaming. Eventually the protagonist realizes he is in a lucid dream-like state and he begins to participate in these conversations. If you enjoy listening to people pose philosophical theories, then you’re in for…
Waking Life is super ambitious in its decision to tackle philosophy in the form of experimental, raw animation. Although the thought exercises ultimately appear uneven, the style department ensures a memorable, atmospheric experience nonetheless.
From contemplations on time and space, to the mystery of language, and eventually to a questionable Alex Jones cameo, Waking Life is all-compassing with its coverings of multiple thought-provoking topics, all wrapped around in a young man's meandering lucid dreams. It's almost entirely dialogue-driven, with the protagonist always at the receiving end listening to intellectual outputs from various individuals. It's a highly risky decision that eventually pays off, and some segments are brilliant enough to even pass for a Godard or Resnais.
I wouldn't go as far as to say I've enjoyed or even grasped every single monologue presented here, but the ones I've appreciated and the unique style on display are already worthwhile. Recommended.
