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Today, most films are bloated, uninteresting,
narrative-driven drivel, filled with beautiful people, a hit soundtrack,
and closely following the storyline of some bestseller close enough so
that it doesn't offend a legion of Oprah's Book Club readers. Waking
Life is something altogether different, a work of abstract art that
recalls Buñuel, Lynch, and Cocteau.
Most people will not understand
Waking Life. Some will find it to be one of the most brilliant
pieces of film ever produced. I found it to be beyond words; a combination
of film, groundbreaking computer animation, and a difficult and profane
script that produces a sublime interpretation of existence.
The
film loosely follows the exploits of a young man (Wiley Wiggins) who is
faced with the realization that the life that he living is only but a
dream, or a series of dreams states with an unknown purpose. The film
follows Wiley as he controls an omnipotent perspective into complex
personal diatribes, candid conversations between lovers and friends, and
one-on-one discussions with over 60 colorful characters,
Slacker-style, crisscrossing and intersecting through his dream
states.
In these dream states, Wiley covers complex issues which
range from the purpose of collective memories; the integration of man and
machine into one equal being; the purpose of God and death in the human
psyche; the joys of living in this imperfect world; the notions of memory
control based upon evolution; and free will in relation to theological and
physical limitations. During these interactions, Wiley slowly discovers
his own destiny within these dream states and of the consequences one must
face with that knowledge. All of these soapbox speeches sometimes lead to
the profane, illogical, and rambling notions of a crazy person. The
impact, though, is phenomenal.
The writer and director of the film
Richard Linklater, best known for Slacker and Dazed
and Confused, tackles heavy subject matter and succeeds admirably.
Linklater's attempts in answering some of life's most complex issues are
achieved superbly; his conversation pieces even manage to reach plausible
conclusions in a short amount of time.
The metaphysical
expressionism of the film is made even more powerful by the awe-inspiring
animation work of Bob Sabiston, who created unique "interpolated
rotoscoping" software to give Wiley's dream world a surreal and Dali-esque
movement and feeling. In every scene of the movie, all stationary items
such as tables and chairs seem to float, refusing the laws of gravity.
Characters are either given great detail or are reduced to resemble
child-like drawings that would hang on the family refrigerator. The film
feels like you're watching a combination of the works of Basquiat, Picasso, and Warhol brought to life.
Beneath the drawings, the film
is shot in real life using real actors, including Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, and Adam Goldberg. Over 30 artists were then brought in to paint
over individual characters of the film using Sabiston's animation
software. The result is proof that both the painter's brush and the
filmmaker's eye can combine to achieve visions of wonder and
profoundness.
From filmcritic.com
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