Nate's Programming Blog

I saw a very interesting movie the other day on lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when you are dreaming and you are consciously aware of the fact that you are dreaming. Once in this state you can then alter and control the dream. It was a very interesting movie. It basically follows the protagonist around as he sits with different people and they go off on these long philosophical speeches.

I had been considering renting or buying this film for the past 2 years or so and never got around to it. The reason I finally decided to do it was because it was written and directed by the same guy that did Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (Richard Linklater) and I have been strangely obsessed with those films since my post about them. What kind of pushed me into renting it was really the fact that Jesse and Celine from Before Sunrise/Before Sunset have cameos in the film.

In the end the movie intrigued me and it reminded me of the fact that I have had lucid dreams before. I remember once having a nightmare and it scared me so much I realized I was dreaming and woke my self up. It is kind of funny because in the film the protagonist can not figure out how to wake up and every time he does he realizes he is still in the dream. I also once had a dream where I realized I was dreaming and explained that fact to the characters in my dream and was able to control the dream to a certain extent. This also happened in Waking Life.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys thought provoking films. Just don’t watch it late at night, because it does require a lot of concentration. The first time I attempted to watch the movie I was pretty tired already and because of the nature of the film I think it made it more difficult to stay awake than usual.