Rating: R
Genre:
Avant-garde / Exp
Theatrical Release: 10/19/2001(USA
Release Date: 05/14/2002
SubTitles: English/French
Dubbed: English/Espanol
Sound: DD5.1/DS
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Flags: Mild Violence, Not For Children, Adult Language
Distributor/Studio: 20th Century Fox
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 merges the naturalism of live action with a stylized look that resembles a cartoon or a painting in motion.
Waking Life's flexible, non-narrative approach follows a young man (
Wiley Wiggins) who arrives in Austin and hitches a ride with a stranger, who engages him in a conversation about rarely considered facets of existentialism. As the visitor drifts through the city, he encounters a variety of people and finds himself absorbing their views on art, philosophy, society, and numerous other issues of contemporary life.
Linklater's cast is dotted with well-known actors (
Ethan Hawke,
Julie Delpy,
Adam Goldberg,
Nicky Katt) and pop-culture notables (filmmaker
Steven Soderbergh,
Martin Scorsese associate
Steven Prince, comic
Louis Black), alongside a large number of relatively little-known players.
Waking Life received its world premiere at the
2001 Sundance Film Festival;
Linklater's next film,
Tape, was also screened at the same festival.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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