Reviews

This film is a documentary in the truest sense of the word. There is no commentary, no music, no quick cutting, just image upon image, all of which help document the weeks following the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. The drama, in this case, is supposed to deal with the problem of currency in the NEW Germany. The title, "Countdown", was intended to count down to the moment Germany decided which currency to use, post-WALL, but it accieves SO MUCH MORE than that (And thank GOD, because that's a pretty da*n boring subject for a film, documentary or not).

Ottinger takes her camera absolutely everywhere. These images are not immediately breathtaking, but eventually we get to see some rather telling moments between East and West Germans. The most incredible being this: The camera is set right on the wall's fault line. A hole is being made. We can see people picking away at it from both sides. A little girl dressed in pink picks away on one side, while an old man picks away on the other. The little girl drops her hammer and it falls onto the OTHER side of the wall. Without missing a beat, the old man picks the girl's hammer up and hands it back to her THROUGH the hole in WALL! The little girl smiles at the old man, there's a beat of silence, and then they both resume their picking. THIS IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE MOMENT! Generations of Germans were picking away at years of oppression, and Ottinger captured the essence of it! Once again, with no commentary, no music, no quick-cutting... JUST LIFE! I dare not write more, as doing so would cheapen the true nature of PURE cinema for those who'll actually watch the film. It's an amazing achievement, and I hope you'll all give it a chance.

This movie is wonderful. I have heard a lot of negative talk about it, and quite frankly, talk like that just makes me mad. The bottom line is this: IT makes you think. Not only on a philosophical level, but on an extremely artistic level as well. When was the last time an American film has even attempted to do that... let alone actually accomplish it?

The "Holy Moment" sequence is absolute cinematic genius. It TELLS you why the cinema is the ultimate art form, at the same time as it's SHOWING you. Richard Linklater really hit on something there, especially with that particular sequence. But the entire film is suggestive in that way... It forces nothing on the audience, yet it makes sure we are aware of the possibilities and let's us make up our own minds. A better way of putting it may be that Waking Life ASKS us what we think.

This is the way movies should be. It is flawless in its ambition, unrivaled in its originality, and made selflessly without the slightest thought of "selling" it to the American public. It is obvious to me that both Linklater and Art director,Bob Sabiston, treated this film like they were proud parents to a gifted child... and couldn't wait to unleash it upon the world.

Anyone who has the slightest interest in seeing how far ART can go... watch Waking Life as many times as possible.

This film looks amazing. With animation along the lines of Yellow Submarine, portions of The Wall, and Alice in Wonderland, it is a good addition to the bunch. In fact, I'm surprised it isn't more popular in college towns. Why? Because this is a "stoner flick", no doubt about it. The villain in the story is named "ZIGZAG", and the princess is named "YUM YUM"... both names of popular brands of "cigarette" rolling papers. In addition to that, the KING "NOD" is in a perpetual state of sleepiness, and when his eyes DO open, they're blood shot as if he's hung over from a long night out with ZIGZAG and YUM YUM. I highly doubt these are just coincidences.

There is also a fair amount of sexual content: The evil ONE-EYE is after the ANCIENT GOLDEN BALLS. Now, how could that be just innocent storytelling?

There is more to this film than meets the eye, and I do not think it should be viewed by children. However, for adults, I recommend it highly. As well as being a must see for any fan of animation, it is also quite funny. Jonathan Winters is great as the voice of The Thief, and it's hard to miss Vincent Price as ZIGZAG.

All in all, this is a great flick that is worth seeing by anyone remotely interested in animation. But it should be rated PG 13 for drug and sexual content.