Waking Life (2001)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 141
Fresh: 113 | Rotten: 28
The talky, animated Waking Life is a unique, cerebral experience.
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 29 | Rotten: 6
The talky, animated Waking Life is a unique, cerebral experience.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 59,042
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Movie Info
Richard Linklater returned to the semi-improvised approach and philosophical themes of his debut feature Slacker while embracing a new and groundbreaking visual technology in his sixth feature film, Waking Life. Linklater and cameraman Tommy Pallotta shot the film on location in Austin, TX, using digital video equipment. Linklater and digital animator Bob Sabiston then used newly developed computer software to transform the images through a process called "interpolated rotoscoping"; the result
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All Critics (148) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (116) | Rotten (29) | DVD (22)
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.
The endless philosophising is a bit sophomoric and more jokes would help, but this is one of a kind that grows more absorbing the longer it runs.
Top CriticFor a movie heralded as the cutting edge of visual innovation, Waking Life is disappointingly dull in every other respect.
If there was ever a film that made ontological exploration fun, this is it.
Exhilarating, transporting, funny and haunting -- and at times maddeningly heady or narcotically logy -- Waking Life doesn't compare to any other movie experience I've ever had.
Truly a one-of -a-kind movie.
a commercial ripoff designed to confuse art-house patrons
Love-it-or-hate-it film best for older teens.
A far-out-man poetry slam, art exhibit and imaginative philosophical discourse all at once drifts gently down a stream of consciousness until merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, "Waking Life" is but a dream. Who says existential fiction must be dreary?
A somewhat flawed but brilliant film that provokes thought, idea, and conversations...
Form and content fit perfectly: even if the highbrow babbling gets a bit much, the hypnotic animation means that there is always something to watch, like characters suddenly dissolving into smoke or spectacles expanding.
A true independent film that uses animation techniques to their utmost.
The question comes up often in life: What's your favorite movie? Since October 2001, the answer has been easy and one I shoot back reflexively almost before someone's finished the question: "Waking Life."
The novelty of the much-lauded animation style wears off about halfway through, with the end result a film that's more interminable than anything else.
It is not the best film of the year, nor is it likely to be one that I purchase and watch often. Still, it is something that should be seen by everyone and experienced by any diehard film lover.
I applaud Linklater for [directing] such an interesting ride. But it suffers from a lack of sensistivity to its audience...
Linklater's most visually distinctive movie, with exquisitely detailed renderings ... that are at the same time unstable, floaty, in a way perfect for a dreamed reality.
It reminded me of college.
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