"Waking Life"
More from yesterday's dreamscape
"Our planet is facing the greatest problems it's ever faced, ever. So whatever you do, don't be bored, this is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. And things are just starting "
Brenna and I watched "Waking Life" (2001) on Sunday night. The DVD was a gift from token_otter.
This full-length feature was filmed in live action, then entirely animated. It follows a young man (Wiley Wiggins) wandering through a series of encounters. At first he seems to be passively interviewing people about the meaning of life. The story eventually reveals he is dreaming, just as bewildered as is the viewer about the purpose of these events. Some of the characters' monologues are profound and informative (Existentialism, Post-Modernism), some fantastic and incoherent, some deeply disturbing.
But really the story is about dreaming. One character presents the essential question the main character must answer (and by now the boundaries between Wiggins' character and his audience have become blurred): "Are we sleep-walking through our waking state or wake-walking through our dreams?"
As a physicalist I consider the question academic, perhaps trivial, yet dreams themselves fascinate me, and so does this film. It evokes the shifting, elusive qualities of dream characters and landscapes. I've noticed images tend to become soft the moment I realize I'm dreaming. This also happens in guided meditations to promote visualization.
I recommend this film to all who share my fascination.
Even without sunglasses, the sun was weirdly distorted