MOVIE · 2001

Waking Life

AnimationDramaFantasy101 min

A young man drifts through a persistent lucid dream, moving from one encounter to the next as conversations about free will, consciousness, relationships, and the meaning of life begin to blur together. Richard Linklater's animated feature follows him through shifting streets, rooms, and half-recognizable moments where strangers stop to argue about reality and the universe itself. Wiley Wiggins carries the film through that floating structure, with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy appearing among the many people he crosses paths with. The rotoscoped animation keeps every face and background in motion, giving the whole film the unstable feel of a thought that won't settle.