WAKING LIFE

Year: 2001
USA & UK: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke, Steven Soderbergh, Peter Atherton, Steve Brudniak, John Christensen, Julie Delpy, Charles Gunning, Nicky Katt, Kim Krizan, Timothy 'Speed' Levitch, Louis Mackey, Steven Prince, Ken Webster
Director: Richard Linklater
Country: USA
USA: 97 mins
UK: 100 mins
USA Rated: R for language and some violent images
UK Certificate: 15 contains infrequent strong language and moderate violence
USA Release Date: 19 October 2001 (Limited Release - Los Angeles and New York)
UK Release Date: 19 April 2002


Synopsis

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 an impressionist painting breathing with life. WAKING LIFE represents a unique union of the worlds of computer and film embodied in the talents of writer/director Richard Linklater (SLACKER, DAZED AND CONFUSED, BEFORE SUNRISE) and computer animation savant Bob Sabiston, the creator of the unique 'interpolated rotoscoping' software that gave birth to WAKING LIFE.

In WAKING LIFE, Wiley Wiggins (DAZED AND CONFUSED) travels through a series of encounters and observations in a world that may or may not be reality. It is this surreal existence, flourishing with endless ideas and possibilities, that ultimately leads to the question, "Are we sleep-walking through our waking state or wake-walking through our dreams?"

Struggling to establish whether he is awake or asleep, Wiggins begins a journey where he encounters a number of real and fictional philosophers. Some offer one sentence asides on life, others delve deeply into existential questions and life's mysteries. The film continues to question the audience on dreams and their foundations, inspiring us to ask the questions and find the answers ourselves.

Our hero is momentarily confused by mysterious episodes such as floating into the air or being unable to physically grip objects. However, just like someone in a dream, he accepts them and moves on and even encounters Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy replaying their roles from Linklater's BEFORE SUNRISE (1995).

Waking Life is like nothing you've ever seen before.

DVD ExTRAS:

Certificate: 15
Running Time: 96 mins
Original Aspect Ratio: 16 x 9 1.85
Sound: English 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles: English for the Hearing Impaired