Synecdoche, New York, 2008

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK: I have always loved watching movies starring EMILY WATSON, This is one of my favorite movies and I highly recommend it. EMILY always give 110%, and her acting is always very convincing and spot on. I give this movie 3*****STARS.

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3-13-09 Have you ever thought about something that you think happened a couple years ago? Then you find out it was more like 15 years ago and you say, "Where did all that time go?" That's sort of what this movie is about. But then again, I really don't fully know. It's about identity, the passing of time, and how time is really nothing but a fabrication to get from hour-to-hour. Over long stretches of time – days, months, years – it all blends together. Writer-director Charlie Kaufman amplifies that concept and many other things in Synecdoche, New York, his strangest and most brilliant film to date. Those reading might note Adaptation, another Kaufman, psychological mind-game movie where the audience really has no clue until the end of the film. Well, this movie is kind of like that, except at the end you still have some many questions. We meet playwright Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) staring at the ceiling in bed listening to talk-radio. The voice on the radio reads a poem about dying alone and explains how Fall is the beginning of the end. People are fascinated with the season because they are witnessing death. And on that happy note, Synecdoche, New York takes flight. I came to this conclusion: Time is relative. We all perceive it differently, but in actuality, time is a figment – a creation of man. It is a constant reminder of what we did from dawn 'til dusk. Usually time is working against us. People who say "I've got plenty of time to do that," generally run out of time or miss the opportunity. It's the ultimate countdown to the end of our life. We cannot conceive that one day our clock will stop ticking, so we wait, thinking there will be more time later. Inevitably there never is and when we reflect we say, "Where did all that time go?" tinyurl.com/az3vg4

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In part, a re-make of '99 Japanese move "After Life" wherein the dead review their lives & choose a single moment to epitomize their experience & take that, nothing else, to next level beyond with them. At end of "Synec" this what the characters' epiphanies come down to. (Small moment or symbol representing bigger thing: synecdoche means just that of course.) This re-make greatly enlarges theme & is most effective where earlier movie just hinted--opens it up: what does dramatic representation & memory mean as servants & carriers of culture. Personal symbioses of meaning-making, in movies as simulations of life, in the Japanese movie--or in Synec, the writer's mind & personal universe. Both also metaphors for how humanity views its existence. Although Synec had, for example, tiresome fecal obsessions at first--I suppose to prove how unsentimental & tough-minded it is--it grew more thoughtful & like its original '99 inspiration. In literal terms, it ends with the moment of passing, so maybe it should be called "Before Death." Quite interesting. 4 or 5 stars. 3.09 _____ After some reflection, I may've over-emphasized this as a re-make of the movie "After Life"---probably because I had just seen it before & was blown away by it. In fact, as a serious writer, Kaufman's screenwriting influences are no doubt numerous, including, say, Albee's "Tiny Alice," to name one. But Kaufman took a germ of an idea & made it his own, particularly in the second act, which creates its own world, in all respects. (The first act, with its nearly boring obsessions about body/blood issues, is in fact kind of a necessary hyperreal grimy stage-setting preparation. Also insight of life in some creative persons.) This one stuck with me. Not many movies do that. And it IS that rarely revealing film about showing the intersection of artist and creative product that movies usually have a terrible time of portraying. The non-surprise: it's not always pretty.

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This movie was beautifully written. It has all the subtle twists and turns you would experience during a long dream. I would suggest that before you view this movie you read a little about dream interpretation, look up the definition of synecdoche, and watch other Kaufman films. (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaption.) The only way to truly appreciate this film is to let it lead the way which is easy to do because it has a wonderful cast and emotionally striking visuals. Highly recommended for those who enjoy Kaufman, not a great place to start for those who are unfamiliar. There is no award that could possibly describe the experience of this movie, otherwise it certainly would have won more.

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"SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK" begins with a realistic portrayal of a hypochondriac director of local theater in Schenectady, NY, whose marriage appears to be ending. After about 20 minutes, the film chucks realism and goes into outer space. We don't know if the affairs the director has, his attempt to create great art by fashioning a new play 17 years in the making, the funerals he attends, the interludes of ego and disgrace, are real or dreams. It appears that we are supposed to see them as quire real. I was flummoxed by this film; I have no clue as to what it's saying, if anything. All I can say is that I didn't find it boring, it's well acted and some individual scenes or images were funny. Note: On my copy of the DVD, the subtitles did not work.

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