Waking Life
Waking Life is a 2001 American animated film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film explores a wide range of philosophical issues, including the nature of reality, dreams and lucid dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, free will, and existentialism. It is centered on a young man who wanders through a succession of dreamlike realities wherein he encounters a series of people who engage in insightful philosophical discussions.
Waking Life | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Richard Linklater |
Written by | Richard Linklater |
Produced by |
|
Starring | Wiley Wiggins |
Cinematography |
|
Edited by | Sandra Adair |
Music by | Glover Gill |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2 million |
Box office | $3.2 million |
The entire film was digitally rotoscoped. It contains several parallels to Linklater's 1991 film Slacker. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their characters from the 1995 Before Sunrise in one scene. Waking Life premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, and was released on October 19, 2001, where it received critical acclaim; however, it underperformed at the box office.