Our take
Waking Life is composed exclusively of a series of conversations involving the main character, with him sometimes participating and sometimes just as a spectator. The discussions revolve around issues such as metaphysics, free will, social philosophy or the meaning of life. The title refers to a quote from Jorge Santayana: “sanity is a madness put to good uses; waking life is a dream controlled.”, and the whole movie wanders around the state of a lucid dream, emphasized by the rotoscoping technique in which it was filmed. Waking Life is not just a movie worth watching, it is a movie worth watching a thousand times, because you will always notice something that you have previously missed out.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Venice
1 win
Sundance
1 nom
The story
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.
Elsewhere
"If there was ever a film that made ontological exploration fun, this is it."
— Peter Rainer
"This inventive animated film, which takes Linklater back to his roots in Austin and Slacker, represents a summation of all the philosophical concerns that have defined him as spokesperson for Gen-X."
— Emanuel Levy
Who picked it
Helena Barker is a contributing writer at A Good Movie to Watch, reviewing films and shows across the major streaming services.
To which Louis Malle movie does Soderburg refer?