Cast&Crew-Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt,and Richard Linklater in the director's chair.
Plot Synopsis-A twentysomething man journeys through life trying to wake from a dream he is stuck in.
Reflections on the Movie-When I first heard about Waking Life, it seemed to me like it would be an anime like flick. Boy was I wrong.
Waking Life is an extremely powerful and intelligent movie that deals with different variations of philosophy. Movie may not be the right word for this "philosophy seminar". You see nobody is acting in the film (few exceptions) they are just expressing beliefs they have ranging from eternity to free will to politics. These opinions are elequently stated by different people such as UT philosophy professors Louis Mackey and David Sosa to actors Hawke and Delpy to J.C. Shakespeare, an Austin Chronicle writer. This "seminar" is like one awesome trip down philosophy lane.
Another reason this movie struck a chord with me was that I, a 17 year old high school graduate, could have filmed it. Linklater uses just one digital camera to capture it all. After this the tricky stuff comes in. The people's figures were traced on computers using new technology to get the freaked out animation on the film. This movie just goes to show that to make a good powerful film,no million dollar effects are needed.
Linklater does a good job of letting the performances just come together and flow. Wiley Wiggins, the closest thing the movie has to a star, provides a great performance toward the end of the movie,after listening to others talk the first hour or so. Overall if you want to see something really different that will make you think and you don't mind your movies arty then Waking Life is something to check out.
Dvd highlights-The extras on this Dvd are not plentiful but for the most part are pretty relevant. The two feature length commentary's (one audio and one text) do a lot to wrinkle out the mysteries of the movie. Besides the commentaries, there are a few different looks at early animation as well as trailers for the aformentioned movie and the Bangor sisters movie. Finally there is a short skit entitled "Snack and Drink" that features Ryan Power, a thirteen year old boy who has autism and appeared in Waking Life. The skit shows Power going into a convenience store to get a snack and drink which is in some ways an ordeal for him. This skit paved the way for the animation in Waking Life.
Final Recommendation-Most likely a rental for most people. People who really like this movie should probably buy the dvd. Once again if you haven't checked this one out before, rent first.
