Waking Life is not a movie, it's a conversation. Which might be OK if it's "My Dinner With Andre," but not here. It may be a great conversation, and, as conversations go, an entertaining one. But not as movies go.
These conversations are interesting, and I may even agree with a lot of it. I may have even thought and talked about these very same philosophical and abstract ideas. It can be fun. I like big ideas, I love to think in movies. I love Gattaca and Memento and Dark City, to name some recent examples.
And believe me, I agree with the sentiment that it's good to ask questions and feel "alive" instead of some creature that is forced into what to think. And I do, in fact, find myself often longing for those days of yore, where these types of on-campus conversations happened regularly, as opposed to the mundane junk we talk about on a daily basis.
But ultimately, though I might want to read the book, this does not make for a good movie. All of the fantastic and brilliant artistic effects in the world -- which this has -- should not deceive you into thinking otherwise.
One problem is, I've had many of these conversations already, and they are generally fruitless. They may be mentally stimulating and interesting, but they ultimately are nothing more than mental gymnastics.
But that's not really it. Mental gymnastics can be great in and of themselves. Our mind needs to be exercised or it just shrivels up.
The big problem is, even if we're inclined to enjoy conversations and mind puzzles like this, we don't enjoy being passive observers of them. Whatever joy might be derived from this kind of thing comes from actually participating in the conversation, even if that means just writing your own essay.
I believe participation is of the essence, because ultimately these kinds of conversations are an egotistical exercise. Since these big ideas don't really have answers, the conversations are ultimately fruitless and frustrating, so just listening to them gets you nowhere. In fact, you could say these conversations are ultimately pointless to have, except as mental gymnastics ... just as basketball is ultimately a pointless pursuit except for the fun and exercise of it.
I wonder if he's done this creative animation to hide the quasi-acting he made famous in "Slackers." That would be really brilliant, come to think of it, since we tend to forgive bad acting, over-acting, under-acting -- or whatever you want to call it -- in animation. I liked Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" and "Suburbia," but at least those movies had people trying to act.
Of course, it could be argued, these characters aren't even pretending to act. They're just talking. But that would bring us right back to the original point.
These conversations are interesting, and I may even agree with a lot of it. I may have even thought and talked about these very same philosophical and abstract ideas. It can be fun. I like big ideas, I love to think in movies. I love Gattaca and Memento and Dark City, to name some recent examples.
And believe me, I agree with the sentiment that it's good to ask questions and feel "alive" instead of some creature that is forced into what to think. And I do, in fact, find myself often longing for those days of yore, where these types of on-campus conversations happened regularly, as opposed to the mundane junk we talk about on a daily basis.
But ultimately, though I might want to read the book, this does not make for a good movie. All of the fantastic and brilliant artistic effects in the world -- which this has -- should not deceive you into thinking otherwise.
One problem is, I've had many of these conversations already, and they are generally fruitless. They may be mentally stimulating and interesting, but they ultimately are nothing more than mental gymnastics.
But that's not really it. Mental gymnastics can be great in and of themselves. Our mind needs to be exercised or it just shrivels up.
The big problem is, even if we're inclined to enjoy conversations and mind puzzles like this, we don't enjoy being passive observers of them. Whatever joy might be derived from this kind of thing comes from actually participating in the conversation, even if that means just writing your own essay.
I believe participation is of the essence, because ultimately these kinds of conversations are an egotistical exercise. Since these big ideas don't really have answers, the conversations are ultimately fruitless and frustrating, so just listening to them gets you nowhere. In fact, you could say these conversations are ultimately pointless to have, except as mental gymnastics ... just as basketball is ultimately a pointless pursuit except for the fun and exercise of it.
I wonder if he's done this creative animation to hide the quasi-acting he made famous in "Slackers." That would be really brilliant, come to think of it, since we tend to forgive bad acting, over-acting, under-acting -- or whatever you want to call it -- in animation. I liked Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" and "Suburbia," but at least those movies had people trying to act.
Of course, it could be argued, these characters aren't even pretending to act. They're just talking. But that would bring us right back to the original point.