Waking Life

            This movie isn’t even really what I would call a traditional film. It’s a series of post-modern vignettes illustrating many of the points and subtle realities of the postmodern era. Some of my favorites are the one about the boat car, the story about the gun, the holy moment, the explanation of quantum mechanics and free will, and the defense of modern existentialism as a practical philosophy.

            The uniting element of the vignettes is the straightman, Jason. Jason is caught in a series of what he believes are dreams but may in fact be reality, however, he can not distinguish between his dreams and his waking life.

            He encounters many individuals that recognize his phenomenon and are rotoscoped in a very provocative fashion. This is a precursor to A Scanner Darkly, both are Linklater works, and both use the life action rotoscoping technique which creates a potent and heady effect in the viewing.

            This isn’t much to go on, as I said this is definitely a 2, but not really a film, and not something you should watch unless you are prepared to take notes. It would be a great assignment in a philosophy class, and each of the vignettes could be explored further in their philosophical and practical significance to both Jason and the movie watcher. This is great.