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Is
it during the time when we are actually conscious and walking
around...our waking life...that we as human beings learn more
about ourselves? Is it the firing of the synapses from the tip
of the fingers or the triggering of the optic nerve that makes
us learn about our place in the universe? Maybe. Maybe not. This
is the question that we ask ourselves as we visit the world that
is called "Waking Life".
"Slacker" and "Before Sunrise" writer and
director David Linklater is back with flying colors (literally)
in "Waking Life", a true celebration in coalescing the
mediums of motion picture, painted art, music and philosophy.
A full ten years since the release of "Slacker" (gosh
I feel old), the philosophical confabulations continue on,
however to a different degree. Linklater poses the possibility
that human development, consequently leading to our evolution,
stems from our sense of dreaming. Visual perception may help us
gather physical facts and memories, but it is how the brain
processes these things that we can better understand ourselves
and the waking life.
It is those short moments of dreaming, which feels to us like an
eternity while asleep, that neuronal activity is very active. We
gather up our memories, facts and beliefs, and the brain does
the rest. Unrestricted by
physical laws of time and space that govern the universe, dreams
enable us to see things in a different manner.
Thus,
in "Waking Life", we follow the dreams of one guy
(voiced by Wiley Wiggins); into one dream and out to the next.
It is in these vignettes that we get to listen in to various
discussions about love, human existence, impersonalization of
modern society and such.
The animated visuals are what this movie will be remembered for.
It does not opt for realism, but more for capturing a fleeting
moment, which can be likened to Impressionism. "Waking
Life" takes full advantage of its medium. Just like in a
dream, animation is not hampered by physicality, so anything
goes.
"Waking Life" is not for everyone, however. It is one
of those "talky" movies, which I find to be very
interesting, but I know some people (like most of my friends)
who hate these types. Also, don't expect a full on treatise on
the human condition because, just like Linklater other films,
"Waking Life" is an amalgamation of minor discussions.
Each dream episode does not last for a long time, but enough to
instill the idea and pose a question for us to discuss later.
Despite its sometimes vexing disjointedness, "Waking
Life" is a true achievement in filmmaking. It is unlike any
movie so far this year, and with 2001 being such a
disappointment so far, "Waking Life" will surely make
a
lot of critics' year-end best list.
Now, time for a nap.
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