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{{short description|2001 American film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox film {{Infobox film
| name = Waking Life | name = Waking Life
| image = Waking-Life-Poster.jpg | image = Waking-Life-Poster.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster | caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = ] | director = ]
| producer = {{ubl|]|]|Anne Walker-McBay|Palmer West}} | producer = {{plainlist|
* Palmer West
* Jonah Smith
* ]
* Anne Walker-McBay
}}
| writer = Richard Linklater | writer = Richard Linklater
| starring = ] | starring = ]
| music = Glover Gill | music = Glover Gill
| cinematography = {{ubl|Richard Linklater|Tommy Pallotta}} | cinematography = {{plainlist|
* Richard Linklater
* Tommy Pallotta
}}
| editing = ] | editing = ]
| studio = ] | studio = {{Plainlist|
* ]
* ]
* Flat Black Films
* Detour Filmproduction
}}
| distributor = ] | distributor = ]
| released = {{Film date|2001|01|23|]|2001|10|19|United States}} | released = {{Film date|2001|1|23|]|2001|10|19|United States}}
| runtime = 101 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 100:40--><ref>{{cite web |title=''WAKING LIFE'' (15) |url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/waking-life-2002-3|work=]|date=September 19, 2001|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref> | runtime = 101 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 100:40--><ref>{{cite web|title=''WAKING LIFE'' (15)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/waking-life-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0znde4mjq|work=]|date=September 19, 2001|access-date=May 6, 2013|archive-date=October 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010071241/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/waking-life-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0znde4mjq|url-status=live}}</ref>
| country = United States | country = United States
| language = English | language = English
| budget = | budget = $2 million
| gross = $3.2 million<ref>{{cite web|title=''Waking Life'' (2001)|work=] |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wakinglife.htm|accessdate=March 20, 2010}}</ref> | gross = $3.2 million<ref>{{cite web|title=''Waking Life'' (2001)|work=]|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wakinglife.htm|access-date=March 20, 2010|archive-date=October 22, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022142704/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wakinglife.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
}} }}
'''''Waking Life''''' is a 2001 American ] ] film, directed by ]. It is the first animated film released by ], and was the only animated film released by Fox Searchlight until '']''. The film explores a wide range of philosophical issues including the nature of reality, ]s, ], the meaning of life, ], and ].<ref name="Kehr"/> ''Waking Life'' is centered on a young man who wanders through a succession of dream-like realities wherein he encounters a series of individuals who engage in insightful philosophical discussions.


'''''Waking Life''''' is a 2001 American ] drama film written and directed by ]. The film explores a wide range of ] issues, including the nature of ], ]s and ]s, ], the ], ], and ].<ref name="Kehr"/> The series of insightful philosophical discussions at the core of the film are progressed by a young man who wanders through a succession of dreamlike realities wherein he encounters a series of interesting characters.
The film was entirely ], although it was shot using digital video of ] with a team of artists drawing stylized lines and colors over each frame with computers, rather than being filmed and traced onto cells on a light box. The film contains several parallels to Linklater's 1991 film '']''. ] and ] reprise their characters from '']'' in one scene.<ref name="MSNBC"/><ref name="Obsessed"/> ''Waking Life'' premiered at the 2001 ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waking_life/ |title=Waking Life |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |date= |accessdate=May 30, 2014}}</ref>

The entire film was digitally ]. It contains several parallels to Linklater's 1991 film '']''. ] and ] reprise their characters from the 1995 '']'' in one scene.<ref name="MSNBC"/><ref name="Obsessed"/> ''Waking Life'' premiered at the ], and was released on October 19, 2001, where it received critical acclaim;<ref name="Metacritic" /> however, it underperformed at the box office.


==Plot== ==Plot==
''Waking Life'' is about an unnamed<ref name="Kehr"/> young man living an ethereal existence that lacks transitions between everyday events and that eventually progresses toward an ]. For most of the film he observes quietly but later participates actively in philosophical discussions involving other characters—ranging from quirky scholars and artists to everyday restaurant-goers and friends—about such issues as ], ], ], and the ]. Other scenes do not even include the protagonist's presence, but rather, focus on a random isolated person, group of people, or couple engaging in such topics from a disembodied perspective. Along the way, the film touches also upon existentialism, ] politics, ], the film theory of ], and ], and makes references to various celebrated intellectual and literary figures by name. An unnamed young man lives an ethereal existence that lacks transitions between everyday events and eventually progresses toward an ]. He observes quietly but later participates actively in ] discussions involving other characters — ranging from quirky scholars and artists to everyday restaurant-goers and friends — about such issues as ], ], ], and the ]. Other scenes do not even include the protagonist's presence but rather focus on a random isolated person, a group of people, or a couple engaging in such topics from a disembodied perspective. Along the way, the film also touches upon ], ] politics, ]ity, the film theory of ], and ]ing, and makes references to various celebrated intellectual and literary figures by name.


Gradually, the protagonist begins to realize that he is living out a perpetual dream, broken up only by occasional ]s. So far he is mostly a passive onlooker, though this changes during a chat with a passing woman who suddenly approaches him. After she greets him and shares her creative ideas with him, he reminds himself that she is a figment of his own dreaming imagination. Afterwards, he starts to converse more openly with other dream characters, but he begins to despair about being trapped in a dream. Gradually, the protagonist begins to realize that he is living out a perpetual dream, broken up only by occasional ]s. So far, he is mostly a passive onlooker, though this changes during a chat with a passing woman who suddenly approaches him. After she greets him and shares her creative ideas with him, he reminds himself that she is a figment of his own dreaming imagination. Afterward, he starts to converse more openly with other dream characters, but he begins to despair about being trapped in a dream.


The protagonist's final talk is with a character who looks somewhat similar to the protagonist himself and whom he briefly encountered previously, earlier in the film. This last conversation reveals this other character's understanding that reality may be only a single instant that the individual interprets falsely as time (and, thus, life); that living is simply the individual's constant negation of God's invitation to become one with the universe; that dreams offer a glimpse into the infinite nature of reality; and that in order to be free from the illusion called life, the individual need only to accept God's invitation. The protagonist's final talk is with a character (played by Richard Linklater) whom he briefly encountered previously in the film. This last conversation reveals this other character's view that reality may be only a single instant that the individual interprets falsely as time (and, thus, life); that living is simply the individual's constant negation of God's invitation to become ]; that dreams offer a glimpse into the infinite nature of reality; and that in order to be free from the illusion called life, the individual need only accept God's invitation.


The protagonist is last seen walking into a driveway when he suddenly begins to levitate, paralleling a scene at the start of the film of a floating child in the same driveway. The protagonist uncertainly reaches toward the car's handle, but is too swiftly lifted above the vehicle and over the trees. He rises into the endless blue expanse of the sky until he disappears from view. The protagonist is last seen walking into a driveway when he suddenly begins to levitate, paralleling a scene at the start of the film of a floating child in the same driveway. The protagonist uncertainly reaches toward a car's handle but is too swiftly lifted above the vehicle and over the trees. He rises into the endless blue expanse of the sky until he disappears from view.


==Cast== ==Cast==
* ] plays the protagonist. *] plays the protagonist.


The film features appearances from a wide range of actors and non-actors, including: The film features appearances from a wide range of actors and non-actors, including:
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* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] as ]
* ]
* ] as ]
* ]
* Steven Prince
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* Richard Linklater * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
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==Production== ==Production==
In a 2001 interview Linklater estimated that the idea for the film "before I was even interested in film, probably 20 years ago".<ref name="AVclubinterview">{{cite web|last1=Tobias|first1=Scott|title=INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD LINKLATER|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/richard-linklater-13739|website=AV Club|accessdate=20 March 2017}}</ref> Despite the long gestation process in his head, Linklater noted that before he came up with the idea of rotoscoping the film "didn't quite work" calling it "too blunt, too realistic"<ref name="IGN">{{cite web|last1=D,|first1=Spence|title=INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD LINKLATER|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/10/20/interview-with-richard-linklater|website=IGN|accessdate=20 March 2017}}</ref> stating that "I think to make a realistic film about an unreality the film had to be an realistic unreality".<ref name="IGN"/> In a 2001 interview, Linklater estimated that the idea for the film came "before I was even interested in film, probably 20 years ago."<ref name="AVclubinterview">{{cite web|last1=Tobias|first1=Scott|title=Interview with Richard Linklater|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/richard-linklater-13739|website=AV Club|date=October 17, 2001|access-date=20 March 2017|archive-date=July 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731153304/http://www.avclub.com/article/richard-linklater-13739|url-status=live}}</ref> For a while he felt the idea for the film "didn't quite work" calling it "too blunt, too realistic"<ref name="IGN">{{cite web|last1=D.|first1=Spence|date=October 20, 2001|title=Interview with Richard Linklater|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/10/20/interview-with-richard-linklater|access-date=March 20, 2017|website=IGN|archive-date=March 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320234341/http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/10/20/interview-with-richard-linklater|url-status=live}}</ref> stating that "I think to make a realistic film about an unreality the film had to be a realistic unreality".<ref name="IGN"/> To create that visual effect, Linklater used an animation technique based on ], in which animators overlaid the live-action footage shot by Linklater with animation that roughly approximates the images actually filmed.<ref name="Animating" /><ref name="WP" /> Linklater employed a variety of artists, so the movie's feel continually changes, producing a ], shifting dreamscape.

Adding to the dream-like effect, the film used an animation technique based on rotoscoping.<ref name="Animating"/> Animators overlaid live action footage (shot by Linklater) with animation that roughly approximates the images actually filmed.<ref name="Animating"/><ref name="WP"/> This technique is similar in some respects to the rotoscope style of 1970s filmmaker ]. Rotoscoping itself, however, was not Bakshi's invention, but that of experimental silent film maker ], who patented the process in 1917.<ref name="Patent"/> A variety of artists were employed, so the feel of the movie continually changes, and gets stranger as time goes on. The result is a ], shifting dreamscape.


The animators used expensive "off-the-shelf" ] computers. The film was mostly produced using ], a custom-made rotoscoping program that creates blends between keyframe vector shapes, which also makes use of virtual "layers", and created specifically for the production by ]. Linklater used this animation method again for his 2006 film '']''. The animators used standard ] computers. The film was mostly produced using ], a rotoscoping program that creates blends between ] vector shapes, which also uses virtual "layers", designed specifically for the production by ]. Linklater used this animation method again for his 2006 film '']''.


==Release== ==Release==
''Waking Life'' ] at the ] in January 2001, and was given a limited release in the United States on October 19, 2001. ''Waking Life'' ] at the ] in January 2001 and was given a limited release in the United States on October 19, 2001.


===Reception=== ===Reception===
Critical reaction has been mostly positive. It holds a rating of 80% across 137 reviews on review aggregator ] — with critical consensus that "the talky, animated ''Waking Life'' is a unique, cerebral experience" — and an average score of 82/100 ("universal acclaim") on ], based on 31 reviews.<ref name="RT"/><ref name="Metacritic"/> ] of the '']'' gave the film four stars out of four, describing it as "a cold shower of bracing, clarifying ideas".<ref name="Sun-Times"/> Ebert later included the film on his list of "Great Movies".<ref name="RogerEbert"/> Lisa Schwarzbaum of '']'' awarded the film an "A" rating, calling it "a work of cinematic art in which form and structure pursues the logic-defying (parallel) subjects of dreaming and moviegoing,"<ref name="Schwarzbaum"/> while ] of '']'' said it was "so verbally dexterous and visually innovative that you can't absorb it unless you have all your wits about you".<ref name="Holden"/> ] of '']'' found the film to be "lovely, fluid, funny" and stated that it "never feels heavy or over-ambitious".<ref name="Kehr"/> On ], the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 145 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "''Waking Life''{{'}}s inventive animated aesthetic adds a distinctive visual component to a film that could easily have rested on its smart screenplay and talented ensemble cast."<ref name="RT"/> On ], which uses a ], the film has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref name="Metacritic"/> ] of the '']'' gave the film four stars out of four, describing it as "a cold shower of bracing, clarifying ideas".<ref name="Sun-Times"/> Ebert later included the film on his list of "Great Movies".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=All we see and all we seem is but a dream within a dream |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/waking-life-2001-1 |website=RogerEbert.com |access-date=1 May 2022 |date=February 11, 2009 |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501152144/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/waking-life-2001-1 |url-status=live }}</ref> ] of '']'' awarded the film an "A" rating, calling it "a work of cinematic art in which form and structure pursue the logic-defying (parallel) subjects of dreaming and moviegoing,"<ref name="Schwarzbaum"/> while ] of '']'' wrote it was "so verbally dexterous and visually innovative that you can't absorb it unless you have all your wits about you".<ref name="Holden"/> ] of '']'' found the film to be "lovely, fluid, funny" and stated that it "never feels heavy or over-ambitious".<ref name="Kehr"/>


Conversely, ] of '']'' felt that ''Waking Life'' "doesn't leave you in a dream&nbsp;... so much as it traps you in an endless bull session".<ref name="Hoberman"/> ] felt the film was "beautifully drawn" but called its content "pedantic navel-gazing".<ref name="Lovece"/> Conversely, ] of '']'' felt that ''Waking Life'' "doesn't leave you in a dream... so much as it traps you in an endless bull session".<ref name="Hoberman"/> ] felt the film was "beautifully drawn" but called its content "pedantic navel-gazing".<ref name="Lovece"/>

In 2018, Richard Linklater addressed the potentially controversial inclusion of ] in the film. In an interview with ], Linklater states, "I just thought he was kind of funny." He notes that he never imagined Jones would one day be taken seriously and that at the time, he did not think much of including him.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Nordine|first1=Michael|date=2018-08-12|title=Richard Linklater on Casting Alex Jones in 'Waking Life': 'I Just Thought He Was Kind of Funny'|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/08/richard-linklater-alex-jones-waking-life-infowars-1201993393/|access-date=2020-12-02|website=IndieWire|language=en}}</ref>


Nominated for numerous awards, mainly for its technical achievements, ''Waking Life'' won the ] award for "Best Experimental Film", the ] award for "Best Animated Film", and the "CinemAvvenire" award at the ] for "Best Film". It was also nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival's main award. Nominated for numerous awards, mainly for its technical achievements, ''Waking Life'' won the ] award for "Best Experimental Film", the ] award for "Best Animated Film", and the "CinemAvvenire" award at the ] for "Best Film". It was also nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival's main award.


The film is recognized by ] in these lists: The film is recognized by ] in these lists:
* 2008 – ]: Nominated Animation Film<ref>{{cite web|url=http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/10top10.pdf?docID=381&AddInterest=1781 |title=AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees |format=PDF |access-date=August 19, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071937/http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/10top10.pdf?docID=381&AddInterest=1781 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 }}</ref>
* 2008: ]:
** Nominated Animation Film<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20110716071937/http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/10top10.pdf?docID=381&AddInterest=1781|title=AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2016-08-19}}</ref>


===Home media=== ===Home media===
The film was released on ] in North America in May 2002. Special features included several ], documentaries, interviews, trailers, and ]s, as well as the short film ''Snack and Drink''. A bare-bones DVD with no special features was released ] in February 2003. The film was released on ] in North America in May 2002. Special features included several ], documentaries, interviews, trailers, and ]s, as well as the short film ''Snack and Drink''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gonzalez|first=Ed|title=DVD Review: Richard Linklater's Waking Life on Paramount Home Video|website=] |date=May 13, 2002 |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/waking-life-dvd/|access-date=2020-12-02|language=en-US}}</ref> A bare-bones DVD with no special features was released ] in February 2003. A Blu-Ray was released in Germany and the UK.


==Soundtrack== ==Soundtrack==
{{Main article|Waking Life (soundtrack)}} {{Main|Waking Life (soundtrack)}}
The '']'' was performed and written by Glover Gill and the ], except for ]'s Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2. The soundtrack was relatively successful. Featuring the ] style, it bills itself "the 21st Century Tango". The tango contributions were influenced by the music of the Argentine "father of new tango" ]. The '']'' was performed and written by Glover Gill and the ], except for ]'s ]. The soundtrack was relatively successful. Featuring the ] style, it bills itself "the 21st Century Tango". The tango contributions were influenced by the music of the Argentine "father of new tango" ].


==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] *]
* ] * ]


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|refs=
* {{cite book | last = Jones | first = Kent | title = Physical Evidence: Selected Film Criticism | publisher = Wesleyan University Press | location = Middletown | year = 2007 | isbn = 0-8195-6844-9 |pages=76–78}}
<ref name="Kehr">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/14/movies/film-waking-up-while-still-dreaming.html?pagewanted=all |work=] |location=New York City |date=October 14, 2001 |first=Dave |last=Kehr |title=FILM; Waking Up While Still Dreaming |access-date=July 6, 2010 |archive-date=May 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502010111/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/14/movies/film-waking-up-while-still-dreaming.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{cite book | last = Rosenbaum | first = Jonathan | title = Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons |chapter=Good Vibrations | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | location = Baltimore | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-8018-7840-3}}
<ref name="Animating">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/10/47433 |title=Animating a Waking Life |first=Jason |last=Silverman |date=October 19, 2001 |magazine=] |access-date=September 30, 2009 |archive-date=September 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930164308/http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/10/47433 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/hawke-delpy-reunite-sunset-wbna5334809 |title=Hawke and Delpy reunite 'Before Sunset' |website=Today.com |date=July 5, 2004 |access-date=May 26, 2009 |archive-date=March 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325201857/http://www.today.com/popculture/hawke-delpy-reunite-sunset-wbna5334809 |url-status=live }}</ref>
;Notes
<ref name="Obsessed">{{cite web |author=DigitallyObsessed |url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showinterview.php3?ID=28 |title=dOc Scenes Interview: Dream Life: An Interview With Julie Delpy |website=DigitallyObsessed.com |access-date=May 26, 2009 |archive-date=January 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106113416/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showinterview.php3?ID=28 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="WP">{{cite news
<!-- Unused citation <ref name="Santayana">{{cite book | last = Santayana | first = George | title = Interpretations of Poetry and Religion | publisher = MIT Press | location = Cambridge | year = 1989 | isbn = 0-262-19286-1 |oclc=20015349 |page=156}}</ref> -->
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50955-2001Oct25?language=printer
<ref name="Kehr">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/14/movies/film-waking-up-while-still-dreaming.html?pagewanted=all |work=] |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=October 14, 2001 |first=Dave |last=Kehr |title=FILM; Waking Up While Still Dreaming |accessdate=July 6, 2010}}</ref>
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116040823/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50955-2001Oct25/?language=printer
<ref name="Animating">{{cite journal |url=https://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/10/47433 |title=Animating a Waking Life |first=Jason |last=Silverman |date=October 19, 2001 |journal=] |accessdate=September 30, 2009}}</ref>
|url-status=dead
<ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5334809 |title=Hawke and Delpy reunite ‘Before Sunset’ |publisher=MSNBC |date=July 5, 2004 |accessdate=May 26, 2009}}</ref>
|archive-date=November 16, 2018
<ref name="Obsessed">{{cite web |author=DigitallyObsessed |url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showinterview.php3?ID=28 |title=dOc Scenes Interview: Dream Life: An Interview With Julie Delpy |publisher=DigitallyObsessed.com |accessdate=May 26, 2009}}</ref>
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<ref name="All">{{cite web |last=Deming |first=Mark |url=http://www.allmovie.com/work/waking-life-237170 |title=Waking Life > Overview |publisher=AllMovie.com |accessdate=May 26, 2009}}</ref>
-->
<ref name="WP">{{cite web
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50955-2001Oct25?language=printer
|title=Aroused by ''Waking Life'' |title=Aroused by ''Waking Life''
|work=The Washington Post |newspaper=]
|publisher=] |location=Washington DC|access-date=May 26, 2009
|accessdate=May 26, 2009
|last=Howe |last=Howe
|first=Desson |first=Desson
|date=October 26, 2001 |date=October 26, 2001
}}</ref> }}</ref>
<ref name="RT">{{cite web
<ref name="Patent">{{US patent reference|number=1242674|y=1917|m=10|d=09|inventor=Max Fleischer|title=Method of producing moving-picture cartoons}}</ref>
|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waking_life
<ref name="RT">
{{cite web
|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waking_life
|title=Waking Life |title=Waking Life
|work=] |work=]
|publisher=] |publisher=]
|location=San Francisco, California
|accessdate=May 26, 2009
|access-date=July 7, 2020
}}
|archive-date=September 25, 2020
</ref><ref name="Metacritic">
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925093632/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waking_life
{{cite web
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web
|url=http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/wakinglife |url=http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/wakinglife
|title=Waking Life |title=Waking Life
|work=] |work=]
|publisher=] |publisher=]
|location=Chicago, Illinois
|accessdate=May 26, 2009
|access-date=May 26, 2009
}}
|archive-date=May 4, 2009
</ref>
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504092608/http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/wakinglife
<ref name="Sun-Times">
|url-status=dead
{{cite news
}}</ref>
|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20011019/REVIEWS/110190306/1023
<ref name="Sun-Times">{{cite news
|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/waking-life-2001-1
|title=Waking Life |title=Waking Life
|work=Chicago Sun-Times |work=]
|publisher=] |publisher=]
|location=Chicago, Illinois
|date=October 19, 2001 |date=October 19, 2001
|accessdate=May 26, 2009 |access-date=May 26, 2009
|last=Ebert |last=Ebert
|first=Roger |first=Roger
|author-link=Roger Ebert
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=May 29, 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529022152/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/waking-life-2001-1
}}</ref> }}</ref>
<ref name="RogerEbert"> <ref name="Schwarzbaum">{{cite magazine
|url=https://ew.com/article/2001/10/18/waking-life-2/
{{cite news
|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090211/REVIEWS08/902119997/-1/RSS
|title=Waking Life |title=Waking Life
|magazine=]
|work=Chicago Sun-Times
|publisher=Sun-Times Media Group |publisher=]
|location=New York City
|date=February 11, 2009
|access-date=February 13, 2021
|accessdate=May 26, 2009
|last=Ebert
|first=Roger
}}
</ref>
<ref name="Schwarzbaum">
{{cite journal
|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,180109~1~0~wakinglife,00.html
|title=Waking Life
|journal=]
|publisher=]
|accessdate=May 26, 2009
|last=Schwarzbaum |last=Schwarzbaum
|first=Lisa |first=Lisa
|author-link=Lisa Schwarzbaum
|date=October 18, 2001 |date=October 18, 2001
|archive-date=April 18, 2021
}}
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418145457/https://ew.com/article/2001/10/18/waking-life-2/
</ref>
|url-status=live
<ref name="Holden">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/12/movies/12WAKI.html |title=Surreal Adventures Somewhere Near the Land of Nod |work=The New York Times |publisher=] |date=October 12, 2001 |accessdate=May 26, 2009 |last=Holden |first=Stephen |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507095817/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/12/movies/12WAKI.html |archivedate=May 7, 2010 }}
}}</ref>
<ref name="Holden">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/12/movies/12WAKI.html |title=Surreal Adventures Somewhere Near the Land of Nod |work=] |location=New York City|date=October 12, 2001 |access-date=May 26, 2009 |last=Holden |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Holden|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507095817/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/12/movies/12WAKI.html |archive-date=May 7, 2010 }}
</ref> </ref>
<ref name="Hoberman"> <ref name="Hoberman">
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|publisher=] |publisher=]
|journal=] |journal=]
|location=New York City
|accessdate=May 26, 2009
|access-date=May 26, 2009
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117065104/https://www.villagevoice.com/2001-10-16/film/sleep-with-me/1
|archive-date=January 17, 2009
|last=Hoberman |last=Hoberman
|first=J. |first=J.
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</ref> </ref>
<ref name="Lovece"> <ref name="Lovece">{{cite web
{{cite web
|url=http://movies.tvguide.com/waking-life/review/135385 |url=http://movies.tvguide.com/waking-life/review/135385
|title=Waking Life Review |title=Waking Life Review
|publisher=] |publisher=]
|accessdate=May 26, 2009 |access-date=May 26, 2009
|last=Lovece |last=Lovece
|first=Frank |first=Frank
|archive-date=October 17, 2009
}}
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017035924/http://movies.tvguide.com/waking-life/review/135385
</ref>
|url-status=dead
}}
}}</ref>}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book | last = Jones | first = Kent | title = Physical Evidence: Selected Film Criticism | publisher = Wesleyan University Press | location = Middletown | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-8195-6844-1 | pages = | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/physicalevidence00jone/page/76 }}
* {{cite book | last = Rosenbaum | first = Jonathan | title = Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons | url = https://archive.org/details/essentialcinemao0000rose | url-access = registration |chapter=Good Vibrations | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | location = Baltimore | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-8018-7840-3}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Wikiquote}} {{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0243017|Waking Life}} * {{IMDb title|0243017}}
* {{Mojo title|wakinglife|Waking Life}} * {{Mojo title|wakinglife}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|waking_life|Waking Life}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes|waking_life}}
* {{Metacritic film|waking-life|Waking Life}} * {{Metacritic film}}


{{Richard Linklater}} {{Richard Linklater}}
{{20th Century Studios theatrical animated features}}
{{20th Century Animation}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film}}


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Latest revision as of 21:44, 4 January 2025

2001 American film

Waking Life
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard Linklater
Written byRichard Linklater
Produced by
StarringWiley Wiggins
Cinematography
  • Richard Linklater
  • Tommy Pallotta
Edited bySandra Adair
Music byGlover Gill
Production
companies
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • January 23, 2001 (2001-01-23) (Sundance)
  • October 19, 2001 (2001-10-19) (United States)
Running time101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million
Box office$3.2 million

Waking Life is a 2001 American adult animated drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film explores a wide range of philosophical issues, including the nature of reality, dreams and lucid dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, free will, and existentialism. The series of insightful philosophical discussions at the core of the film are progressed by a young man who wanders through a succession of dreamlike realities wherein he encounters a series of interesting characters.

The entire film was digitally rotoscoped. It contains several parallels to Linklater's 1991 film Slacker. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their characters from the 1995 Before Sunrise in one scene. Waking Life premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, and was released on October 19, 2001, where it received critical acclaim; however, it underperformed at the box office.

Plot

An unnamed young man lives an ethereal existence that lacks transitions between everyday events and eventually progresses toward an existential crisis. He observes quietly but later participates actively in philosophical discussions involving other characters — ranging from quirky scholars and artists to everyday restaurant-goers and friends — about such issues as metaphysics, free will, social philosophy, and the meaning of life. Other scenes do not even include the protagonist's presence but rather focus on a random isolated person, a group of people, or a couple engaging in such topics from a disembodied perspective. Along the way, the film also touches upon existentialism, situationist politics, posthumanity, the film theory of André Bazin, and lucid dreaming, and makes references to various celebrated intellectual and literary figures by name.

Gradually, the protagonist begins to realize that he is living out a perpetual dream, broken up only by occasional false awakenings. So far, he is mostly a passive onlooker, though this changes during a chat with a passing woman who suddenly approaches him. After she greets him and shares her creative ideas with him, he reminds himself that she is a figment of his own dreaming imagination. Afterward, he starts to converse more openly with other dream characters, but he begins to despair about being trapped in a dream.

The protagonist's final talk is with a character (played by Richard Linklater) whom he briefly encountered previously in the film. This last conversation reveals this other character's view that reality may be only a single instant that the individual interprets falsely as time (and, thus, life); that living is simply the individual's constant negation of God's invitation to become one with the universe; that dreams offer a glimpse into the infinite nature of reality; and that in order to be free from the illusion called life, the individual need only accept God's invitation.

The protagonist is last seen walking into a driveway when he suddenly begins to levitate, paralleling a scene at the start of the film of a floating child in the same driveway. The protagonist uncertainly reaches toward a car's handle but is too swiftly lifted above the vehicle and over the trees. He rises into the endless blue expanse of the sky until he disappears from view.

Cast

The film features appearances from a wide range of actors and non-actors, including:

Production

In a 2001 interview, Linklater estimated that the idea for the film came "before I was even interested in film, probably 20 years ago." For a while he felt the idea for the film "didn't quite work" calling it "too blunt, too realistic" stating that "I think to make a realistic film about an unreality the film had to be a realistic unreality". To create that visual effect, Linklater used an animation technique based on rotoscoping, in which animators overlaid the live-action footage shot by Linklater with animation that roughly approximates the images actually filmed. Linklater employed a variety of artists, so the movie's feel continually changes, producing a surreal, shifting dreamscape.

The animators used standard Apple Macintosh computers. The film was mostly produced using Rotoshop, a rotoscoping program that creates blends between key frame vector shapes, which also uses virtual "layers", designed specifically for the production by Bob Sabiston. Linklater used this animation method again for his 2006 film A Scanner Darkly.

Release

Waking Life premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2001 and was given a limited release in the United States on October 19, 2001.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 145 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Waking Life's inventive animated aesthetic adds a distinctive visual component to a film that could easily have rested on its smart screenplay and talented ensemble cast." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, describing it as "a cold shower of bracing, clarifying ideas". Ebert later included the film on his list of "Great Movies". Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly awarded the film an "A" rating, calling it "a work of cinematic art in which form and structure pursue the logic-defying (parallel) subjects of dreaming and moviegoing," while Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote it was "so verbally dexterous and visually innovative that you can't absorb it unless you have all your wits about you". Dave Kehr of The New York Times found the film to be "lovely, fluid, funny" and stated that it "never feels heavy or over-ambitious".

Conversely, J. Hoberman of The Village Voice felt that Waking Life "doesn't leave you in a dream... so much as it traps you in an endless bull session". Frank Lovece felt the film was "beautifully drawn" but called its content "pedantic navel-gazing".

In 2018, Richard Linklater addressed the potentially controversial inclusion of Alex Jones in the film. In an interview with IndieWire, Linklater states, "I just thought he was kind of funny." He notes that he never imagined Jones would one day be taken seriously and that at the time, he did not think much of including him.

Nominated for numerous awards, mainly for its technical achievements, Waking Life won the National Society of Film Critics award for "Best Experimental Film", the New York Film Critics Circle award for "Best Animated Film", and the "CinemAvvenire" award at the Venice Film Festival for "Best Film". It was also nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival's main award.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Home media

The film was released on DVD in North America in May 2002. Special features included several commentaries, documentaries, interviews, trailers, and deleted scenes, as well as the short film Snack and Drink. A bare-bones DVD with no special features was released in Region 2 in February 2003. A Blu-Ray was released in Germany and the UK.

Soundtrack

Main article: Waking Life (soundtrack)

The Waking Life OST was performed and written by Glover Gill and the Tosca Tango Orchestra, except for Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2. The soundtrack was relatively successful. Featuring the nuevo tango style, it bills itself "the 21st Century Tango". The tango contributions were influenced by the music of the Argentine "father of new tango" Astor Piazzolla.

See also

References

  1. "WAKING LIFE (15)". British Board of Film Classification. September 19, 2001. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  2. "Waking Life (2001)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  3. ^ Kehr, Dave (October 14, 2001). "FILM; Waking Up While Still Dreaming". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  4. "Hawke and Delpy reunite 'Before Sunset'". Today.com. July 5, 2004. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  5. DigitallyObsessed. "dOc Scenes Interview: Dream Life: An Interview With Julie Delpy". DigitallyObsessed.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  6. ^ "Waking Life". Metacritic. Chicago, Illinois: CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  7. Tobias, Scott (October 17, 2001). "Interview with Richard Linklater". AV Club. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  8. ^ D., Spence (October 20, 2001). "Interview with Richard Linklater". IGN. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  9. Silverman, Jason (October 19, 2001). "Animating a Waking Life". Wired. Archived from the original on September 30, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
  10. Howe, Desson (October 26, 2001). "Aroused by Waking Life". The Washington Post. Washington DC. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  11. "Waking Life". Rotten Tomatoes. San Francisco, California: Fandango Media. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  12. Ebert, Roger (October 19, 2001). "Waking Life". Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago, Illinois: Sun-Times Media Group. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  13. Ebert, Roger (February 11, 2009). "All we see and all we seem is but a dream within a dream". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  14. Schwarzbaum, Lisa (October 18, 2001). "Waking Life". Entertainment Weekly. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  15. Holden, Stephen (October 12, 2001). "Surreal Adventures Somewhere Near the Land of Nod". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  16. Hoberman, J. (October 16, 2001). "New York Movies – Sleep With Me". The Village Voice. New York City: Village Voice Media. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  17. Lovece, Frank. "Waking Life Review". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  18. Nordine, Michael (August 12, 2018). "Richard Linklater on Casting Alex Jones in 'Waking Life': 'I Just Thought He Was Kind of Funny'". IndieWire. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  19. "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  20. Gonzalez, Ed (May 13, 2002). "DVD Review: Richard Linklater's Waking Life on Paramount Home Video". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 2, 2020.

Bibliography

External links

Films directed by Richard Linklater
20th Century Studios theatrical animated features
20th Century Animation
(co-productions and original films)
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New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Animated Film
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