I've always known this movie was a love it or hate it prospect, and looking over the reviews confirms this is the case. It's the kind of movie you'll either shut off after ten minutes, or love completely. For me, it's the latter.
I found this movie to be a thought provoking exploration of the world of dreams and dreaming, and the nature of reality. It creates a vivid, dreamlike atmosphere where nothing is quite what it seems and anything is possible. In large part, this is due to the "trippy" (for lack of a better word) animation style, which is constantly changing and shifting, much like the rhythms and images of real dreams.
Roughly the first half of the movie consists of a series of lectures, wherein the protagonist is a passive participant. Basically he (and thus we) are being lectured by a series of people, presumably academics, on various philosophical topics. This part of the movie could be either quite interesting, or terminally boring depending on your point of view. In any event, it gives us as viewers quite a bit to chew on, and goes a long way towards creating the mood of the film.
Gradually, the protagonist becomes a more active participant in his "dream" - for we're never sure as viewers exactly what's going on. It is implied that our hero could be dreaming, or awake, or possibly even dead. But gradually he begins to interact more with his environment, and manages to incorporate much of what he's learned via the "lectures" into his life and/or dream experience. This is the plot as it stands, but this movie isn't really your typical plot driven film. It's more of an experience, like a long, strange, vivid dream.
I really enjoyed this movie, so much so that I felt compelled to buy it. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this film affected me deeply, and made me re-examine what dreams mean to me and my life. It gave me a deeper appreciation of the dream state, and of the lessons about life and about ourselves that can be learned there. Dream on.....
I found this movie to be a thought provoking exploration of the world of dreams and dreaming, and the nature of reality. It creates a vivid, dreamlike atmosphere where nothing is quite what it seems and anything is possible. In large part, this is due to the "trippy" (for lack of a better word) animation style, which is constantly changing and shifting, much like the rhythms and images of real dreams.
Roughly the first half of the movie consists of a series of lectures, wherein the protagonist is a passive participant. Basically he (and thus we) are being lectured by a series of people, presumably academics, on various philosophical topics. This part of the movie could be either quite interesting, or terminally boring depending on your point of view. In any event, it gives us as viewers quite a bit to chew on, and goes a long way towards creating the mood of the film.
Gradually, the protagonist becomes a more active participant in his "dream" - for we're never sure as viewers exactly what's going on. It is implied that our hero could be dreaming, or awake, or possibly even dead. But gradually he begins to interact more with his environment, and manages to incorporate much of what he's learned via the "lectures" into his life and/or dream experience. This is the plot as it stands, but this movie isn't really your typical plot driven film. It's more of an experience, like a long, strange, vivid dream.
I really enjoyed this movie, so much so that I felt compelled to buy it. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this film affected me deeply, and made me re-examine what dreams mean to me and my life. It gave me a deeper appreciation of the dream state, and of the lessons about life and about ourselves that can be learned there. Dream on.....