Waking Life (2001)

There was a post in Facebook about real Van Gogh paintings coming alive as a movie. I responded how this movie was similar to the animation. I watched it on cable when I was 10. Back then HBO likes to show movies over and over and over and everytime I see it by chance, I watched it. I was so captivated by it. But, I never got to start it! I never knew the title, nor the beginning of the movie. Thankfully that random stranger on Facebook knew which movie I was talking about. Then and there I bought a digital copy on Amazon. I was so happy! When I was 10 I never really understood everything, I probably don't even know anything about drugs then but I was very familiar with lucid dreams. When the movie Inception came out, I thought that movie sucked because this movie was THE dream in a dream in a dream movie. When I saw the comments, and reviews, man.. these people probably never saw the coming of superhero movies. Lol. Now it's all heroes, and galaxies, comics.. I wish another movie like this comes out soon now that I'm an adult!

Waking life is one of those movies, that in the middle of them you just know that It's the kind of movies that you know you are going to watch over and over again. it handles a bunch of the hardest questions that many intellectual and open minds ask in life, where you seem you have someone to speak with you about some of the ideas that go through your mind. Excellent movie.

At first the visuals impressed me, they are really something new and I thought they were well made to transport a philosophical message, but I after half of the movie I realized that's it. This is the movie and it is nothing more than intellectual phrases and opinions, not a movie at all.And it's not like anything that was said is ground breaking new or has been put in great perspective or insight, no, nothing. It's a messy collection of basic philosophical statements and they go just as randomly as they come. They don't build up, tell a story or provoke a special thought. The director covers this mess up by suggesting that he might dream ... yeah wow ...I love philosophy but this movie was absolutely nothing new, it could be for someone who never got in touch with philosophy but in this case I doubt this is what such a person could like. But at least they could say they liked it to impress others. :) I'm giving it 3 stars just for the appreciation of the visuals and the approach of a philosophical genre. Hopefully there will be more such (better made) movies in future.

A movie that begins with the line "Dream is Destiny" ought to be compelling and thought provoking and so that's what Waking Life is.It's a hugely compelling and thought provoking movie without doubt and it makes us ask very very poignant questions that we have even forgot asking ourselves or anyone around. As we grow and get lost in the crowd we tend to keep away from the philosophy of life and seek only materialistic things, the money, the name, the prosperity while our purpose of existence and purpose of doing something still remains in question. We tend not to do a few things as we grow up due to fear and few things remain undone because of our laziness which essentially means that we are taking life for granted we are becoming complacent and certain of a tomorrow and even tomorrow we might not do it. That's just a part of this movie where i's said. There are many dialogues and of course this movie is nothing but dialogue driven, acting scope is minimal as it's a love action movie that makes you feel at first a bit bizarre coz it's neither animated nor a normal film and we are not used to this kind of presentation. If anything then it's editing and the animation that I restrict the technical departments to with art direction that will help what has to be there in the scene figuring out and all are apt. But I love the dialogue more than anything else. Be it a conversation of a couple, a interview on TV or in theatre, a monologue in jail, they are so prominent and one after another they keep the mind on the run and if there are questions that will run through the mind as we see it as ' what are we doing?,what are we here for? what is life after all?' I never get even for a split second what is the plot of the movie, what is it's story who are the characters and what are their motives, these things are not important here.It's terribly difficult to comprehend what it feels like after watching this movie except that as and when I watch it I just feel so happy and relieved but still questions keep boggling. I am very grateful to Richard Linklater the writer director of the movie for giving this film. It's one of the best gifts I had. It's 5/5 for the most thought provoking movie ever that I saw. I saw it precisely 5 times all my life and will surely watch many more times as this movie has to be experienced and can't be just seen and forgot, you need to keep asking the questions.