Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 82 Ratings

  • Summary: In this animated drama, a man walks through what may be a dream, flowing in and out of scenarios and encounters with strange characters. (Fox Searchlight)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 31
  2. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. 100
    I have seen Waking Life three times now. I want to see it again -- not to master it, or even to remember it better, -- but simply to experience all of these ideas, all of this passion, the very act of trying to figure things out.
  2. The film is truly special, truly different -- a wondrous talky roundelay about and for people who love life.
  3. 80
    Like being jacked directly into Linklater's alpha waves, and the experience is bracingly new to movies.
  4. It's a cult movie in search of a cult. It'll probably find one. It certainly looks and feels like no other movie ever made.

See all 31 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 48
  2. Negative: 11 out of 48
  1. ChelseaE.
    10
    This film was simply mind blowing. I watched it every night before I went to bed for about 3 months, until I let someone borrow it and they lost it. It really opens your mind and your eyes to the simple truths of life and existence. From scenes of optimism to existentialism, there is a story for every type of perspective. One of my favorite quotes from the movie: "Hey. Could we do that again? I know we haven't met, but I don't want to be an ant. You know? I mean, it's like we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another, continuously on ant autopilot, with nothing really human required of us. Stop. Go. Walk here. Drive there. All action basically for survival. All communication simply to keep this ant colony buzzing along in an efficient, polite manner. "Here's your change." "Paper or plastic?' "Credit or debit?" "You want ketchup with that?" I don't want a straw. I want real human moments. I want to see you. I want you to see me. I don't want to give that up. I don't want to be ant, you know?" Expand
  2. BobE.
    8
    A film that requires repeated viewings, and even short 'rewinds' withing the film. Watch it once and then decide if you'd like to study it. Expand
  3. DMcGinty
    6
    I seem to be the only person that I know that liked this movie. It's good if you just don't take it too seriously. It's not particularly deep or philosophical. It's just a film of whimsical visuals backed by ambient lectures on post-modern nothingness. Expand
  4. PatC.
    3
    Unique and cerebral, but probably should be regarded more as a philosophical tutorial or documentary. I found the jittery animated visualization hard on the eyes and the lack of plot and character development disruptive of the continuity required for attentive viewing of a full length feature. The film appears to be a compilation of fleeting thoughts that didn't fit into other projects. While interesting to the introspective mind and containing an undeniably positive message, I didn't think they constituted a movie. Expand

See all 48 User Reviews

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