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Waking Life

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:26 am
by Just Like Honey...
Alas it has finally happened.. I didn't think any film could ever come close to pushing LiT out of my #1 spot, however this flick has come dangerously close. I saw this movie by random chance after hearing about it from a friend. After assuming that no one else would have ever heard of this film (it radiated with a fairly underground, indie vibe to me, and it was just so) I decided to ask around, and found out that it isn't as unknown as I assumed it to be.

Save the spoilers, this may very well have been the most intelligent, artistic, creative, inspiring, and philosophical piece of cinema I've been priveledged to see in my seasoned, albeit short, movie watching life (so far).

For those who haven't seen it, Waking Life is a movie about philosophy (maybe Charlotte would enjoy it) that is produced with a seldom used effect called rotoscoping. Basically, the movie was filmed with consumer-level digital cameras, edited, then given to a large group of animators who drew right over the film to convert the movie to an incredibly trippy (I hate the word 'trippy' but feel it's the only word that describes this) sequence of 'animated' scenes, which give off the vibe of a cubist painting come to life, where static backgrounds and objects live and breathe and interact with time and space along with the characters.

Rather than a traditionally constructed storyline, the 'story', if you can call it that, is of a young man who comes to meet characters inside his own mind (sort of), who educate him on their philosophical views of life, evolution, religion, and the world on all levels.

Here's the question: Has anyone else seen it?

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:54 am
by I65
No but it sounds like a must see to me.

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:03 pm
by 52FM
Another one to add to my list, which includes Magnolia and Dogville as well.

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:31 pm
by preciouswhile
I haven't seen it, but I've been meaning to. It's directed by Richard Linklater, the same guy who wrote/directed Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. And, as I understand it, Jesse and Celene make a cameo.

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:54 pm
by I65
52FM wrote:Another one to add to my list, which includes Magnolia and Dogville as well.
Magnolia is a long film, but really great.

Dogville is tediously long. You may want to stop watching it part way through ( I think my husband made it about 20 minutes, but he doesn't get LIT either :P ). You have to sit through it though for the big pay off at the end. I felt things after watching Dogville I never dreamed possible for me to feel in my life.

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:24 pm
by 52FM
Ithildriel65 wrote:I felt things after watching Dogville I never dreamed possible for me to feel in my life.
OK - that's sure an incentive to sit through it; since I "get" LiT I'm guessing I will "get" Dogville. Now I just have to find the time - always the toughest part.

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:30 pm
by 52FM
Oh - and I bet we all see a lot more posts from Ith for a while - as she tries to get rid of the WooHoo Guy designation!

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 5:26 pm
by Just Like Honey...
drabthehours wrote:It's directed by Richard Linklater, the same guy who wrote/directed Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. And, as I understand it, Jesse and Celene make a cameo.
This is true.

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 5:28 pm
by Just Like Honey...
52FM wrote:Another one to add to my list, which includes Magnolia and Dogville as well.
I'm having a hard time finding Magnolia, although I've been trying to get my hands on it for months.
I haven't heard of Dogville but I'll add that one to my list as well. In fact I think I'll look it up on IMDB right now. :wink:

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 1:45 am
by adrien950
Upon your recommendation I just finished watching Waking Life. This is an amazing film. I have this strange feeling inside right now, and I don't know what it is. I didn't know what to expect when it first came on..my mind had to catch up to what was being said.
I didn't expect such a facinating deep discussion on lucid dreaming and the mysteries of life...and the universe and our place in it. The film felt like a dream. The animation was very vivid..very...I don't know..stunning. Excellent thought provoking film. :shock:

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:52 am
by Just Like Honey...
Well my question to you is which philosophies/abstract ideals hit you the hardest? My favorite scenes would have to be Eamonn Healey, who is the older man philosophizing about neo-humanism and neurobiology (one of the first), David Sosa (the quantum mechanics guy who is quoted in my signature) and the speech at the beginning by "boat-car guy"(I think the movie refers to him as Bill Wise). His conversation is especially interesting, because his entire conversation is an elaborate metaphor about his point of view on life and time.

Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:27 am
by adrien950
Where to begin? Hmm....some of the ones I found facinating...

1. J.C. Shakespeare - After coming out of the building with the address number being 411(information?!)..he discusses the role of the media and it's role in society...his comment on the "symbolic act" of voting..how we are "The Self-Destructive Man"..and how the segment ends..very eerie.
2. Julie Delphy/Ethan Hawke - Discussing the concept that reincarnation is "just a poetic expression of what collective memory is."
3. Alex Jones - His rant on freedom in our country at first just sounds like the babblings of a conspiracy theorist..but upon hearing him completely he does seem to have some viable points. "Buffet of Lies" indeed.
4.Steven Prince/Ken Webster - Ken making the quote: "A well armed populus is the best defense against tyranny"..then they both prove that concept to be inaccurate to say the least.
5. Richard Linklater - Discussing Phillip K. Dick's theory that time is an illusion. I love it when he says "You should wake up because you won't be able to someday."

Many,many more...David Sosa was great too. :wink:

Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:21 pm
by Just Like Honey...
adrien950 wrote: 4.Steven Prince/Ken Webster - Ken making the qoute: "A well armed populus is the best defense against tyranny"..then they both prove that concept to be inaccurate to say the least.
5. Richard Linklater - Discussing Phillip K. Dick's theory that time is an illusion. I love it when he says "You should wake up because you won't be able to someday."
Great Stuff :)
I'm not too much into the conspiracy theories though. More into the deeper stuff; that last one especially, although I did find self-destructive man burning pretty darned eerie.

Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:48 pm
by preciouswhile
I rented it last weekend and I really enjoyed it.

When he and the girl bump into each other on the stairway, exchange mumbled "Excuse me's", and she says, "Wait, can we do that again? I don't want to just be ants, you know?" ... I liked that part.

Also the idea that after death your dream self lives on, just never able to wake up.

I was also really interesed to hear the stuff about lucid dreaming. I remember having a lucid dream once, where I realized I was dreaming, but it was more of a lucid nightmare. I don't remember exactly what I was so frightened of in the dream, it wasn't anything specific, but I kept trying and trying to wake up, and had quite a few "false awakenings", where I woke up in my bed thinking I was awake, only to be right back in the nightmare.

When I finally did wake up for real, I was exhausted. :|

Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:45 pm
by Just Like Honey...
drabthehours wrote:I remember having a lucid dream once.
I've been trying for weeks, but to no avail. :roll:

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:01 am
by adrien950
I used to have lucid dreams all the time in my teen years. I didn't know that's what they were then..I just thought "cool..I can control my dreams!"
Anytime I was having a nightmare, I always turned it into a comedic dream or fantasy. It was awesome. The main thing was I was sleeping a lot and that made it easier for me to dream that way.
Now, sadly, I don't sleep nearly as much...maybe 4 hrs at the most. Back then I probably slept for about 11-12 hrs. I know I dream , I just don't remember them now. :(

Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 4:28 am
by jml2
sounds like my kind of movie
though I fear the animation might just bug me

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:19 pm
by Just Like Honey...
jml2 wrote:sounds like my kind of movie
though I fear the animation might just bug me
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"Transcending the boundaries of technology and imagination, WAKING LIFE is a revolutionary breakthrough in film animation. Originally shot and edited as live action, the footage was then graphically "painted" frame by frame via computer by a team of more than 30 artists. The feeling created is that of a painting breathing with life. "

Something that makes the animation add to the movie even more, is that each scene was done by a different animator, and they all have a slightly different feel about them. You can probably tell by looking at the screenshots.