"Waking Life" is a dreamy movie by definition. It reminded me a bit of Jim Jarmusch' "Night On Earth" - maybe because those movies have similar (yet fantastic) scores, maybe it's because both are told in episodes with little else going on than people talking to each other. "Waking Life" is really unlike any other movie, though.
Besides the highly philosophical and intriguing dialogues it's the unique visuals that set this movie apart from any other motion picture out there. The movies' look isn't a case of style over matter at all, it's what gives "Waking Life" it's dream-like quality. This look is what really sucks you into this completely different world, this dream world.
Although I've loved some of Linklater's movies dearly ("Before Sunrise/Sunset", "Dazed & Confused", "School Of Rock") and I have appreciated him as a rather versatile director before, it's "Waking Life" that convinced me that he's a real master, as artistically skilled as Michel Gondry or Darren Daronofsky. It may not be Linklater's very best movie, but his directing and his writing here are probably his most artistic and masterful work so far.
Besides the highly philosophical and intriguing dialogues it's the unique visuals that set this movie apart from any other motion picture out there. The movies' look isn't a case of style over matter at all, it's what gives "Waking Life" it's dream-like quality. This look is what really sucks you into this completely different world, this dream world.
Although I've loved some of Linklater's movies dearly ("Before Sunrise/Sunset", "Dazed & Confused", "School Of Rock") and I have appreciated him as a rather versatile director before, it's "Waking Life" that convinced me that he's a real master, as artistically skilled as Michel Gondry or Darren Daronofsky. It may not be Linklater's very best movie, but his directing and his writing here are probably his most artistic and masterful work so far.