Waking Life

It is hard for me to describe in a short blog pot the movie Waking Life. However, what I can say is that the movie blew me away. Although at times I had to stop the movie and watch parts of it over again, or come back to it later, when finished the movie is truly a master piece. 

The film takes place in two different types of worlds, one is dreaming and one is in reality. This is shown through a type of animation I have never seen before. I had to look it up and it’s a technique based on rotoscoping. Basically this means that the director juxtaposed animation on top of the images actually filmed. This plays into the major themes of the movie and the state of mind the main character is in (reality and dreaming). The final effect of this is very surreal since each scene is differently animated. 

Most of the film is random characters and their discussions about philosophy, the protagonist enters these conversations to watch and listen, sometimes to discuss with them. Each character has a different view and usually they’re covering the meaning of life, free will, and social philosophy. The characters are all animated and are played by some known actors like Ethan Hawke and Otto Hofmann. Most of the rest of them are not so famous actors or directors. 

This movie doesn’t have a solid story line, however each scene engages your mind to think about things we usually don’t on an everyday basis. If you are interested in philosophy, lucid dreaming, or anything relating this movie will really blow you away. It’s a good film to discuss with people or just to watch on your own. It’s very unique and I personally haven’t seen anything like it.