Customer Reviews

Synecdoche, New York [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I'm not sure if I'd call it the "smash-hit comedy of the year", as the box this two-disc dvd set came in proudly proclaimed, but there are funny moments. And tender moments. And heart-wrenching moment. Synecdoche, New York is a brilliant movie, excellently paced (though slower than most films in the modern day; fitting, given the scope). It's an amazing journey, with unreliable narrators and narcissistic protagonists. It's everything we want life to be - and everything we wish it wasn't, often mixed to the point where they can't be kept apart.

It's probably not for everyone - but if you like movies with layered meanings that can be watched again and again for a fresh experience and don't mind a film that's happy to share its story with you at its own pace... Then you'll have a blast.

i find it frustrating that the average review of this film has suffered so much because the dvd people haven't put subtitles on it, when it's a criminally under-rated film that many people would enjoy if they gave it a chance. the people slagging it off, despite loving the film, and there are some on here, are robbing people of the chance to see it, and to find the joy that they themselves found. there being no subtitles isn't kaufman's fault, isn't amazon's fault, and isn't the fault of the people who haven't yet seen it and are looking at the average rating of films to see whether they'd like to watch it. there are other ways to protest about subtitles, but i don't see that this is the place.

"synecdoche, new york" is a film that seems to have passed so many people by, and in an age of transformers and twilight and hollywood remakes and remakes and remakes, and prequels and sequels, is that rare thing - an original work of art. it flopped in america, and generally around the world, and made it so much harder than it should for an incredible screenwriter to get cracking on his next work. i will make no bones about it - i love charlie kaufman. i don't love everything he does - i thought "being john malkovich" was interesting, and didn't particularly like "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind", but i loved both this and "adaptation", and even when it doesn't work for me, i love the risks he takes, the sheer mindblowing ambition of the man. he makes you think, he involves you, he makes you work for understanding, but he doesn't leave you out there. i think he has described it as a conversation, and it's not just a "message" for you. it's thoughts, philosophies, emotions, and he will bend reality to get it in there (so we have a woman buying a house that is on fire, we have a block being built in a warehouse where the block is clearly bigger than the warehouse it is inside). to take him literally and to get annoyed at him is to miss him entirely.

people get annoyed at films like this. "i watch a film to relax," people say. "i want to eat my popcorn, switch my brain off, and just chill out". nothing wrong with that. i like to do that too. but not every time. sometimes i want an experience, i want a film to challenge things that i have felt, or to reinforce things i have felt, but in ways that i have never even thought of before. this is that film, and it is not snobbish or elitist to suggest that there is a place for those movies too.

this isn't even a film you can understand after watching once, you must watch it again, ideally after reading everything you can find about it. you could almost do a course on this one film, there is so much there. but if it offers so much new insight after each viewing, it isn't a chore. it shouldn't necessarily be a bad thing that there is the occasional film that isn't just a popcorn film. it's just a shame that nobody seemed ready for it. i cannot recommend this enough if you are willing to watch something different, something a bit challenging. this will give you as much out of the viewing experience as you want it to, as long as you're willing to meet it halfway.

long live charlie kaufman, there aren't enough like him. there isn't even another one like him.

On one level I thought this film was beautifully constructed and crafted, it is an insightful piece of work in terms of human angst, loss of hope, self obsession, failed relationships, self delusion, collective delusions, disillusionment, loss, creativity, mortality and human frailty. On another level I really did not enjoy watching it at all, it was beyond bleak and yes I know we watch different films for different reasons and I have seen enough badly written and inaccurate film reviews on the back of DVD boxes not to be taken in by the "Comedy of the year" description, I really did not expect to watch something that gave me absolutely no viewing pleasure at all, I like films that make me think but I also like a bit of hope and to me it felt that the film was sucking all the joy from my soul, and whilst this might be the point of the film, it isn't an experience I would want to repeat.

I knew this would be the type of film to divide opinion and that is clear from the other reviews here. I'm sure some people will be able to analyse the films narrative to the nth degree however even as someone who isn't a film geek the themes being explored here are clear. It's hard to watch without turning some of the analysis on yourself and for me that's what makes a brilliant film. Highly recommended.

I watched this movie quite by accident and was absolutely blown away, as was my partner. I find it near impossible to give a review, as it seemed to speak more through me rather than to me. An effortless watch, and the more bizarre it became the more familiar it began to feel somehow. The thoughts and perceptions of a human being gradually turning inside out, a glimpse of the true human condition. Some extremely funny and surprising moments, beautiful, desperate and deeply surreal. I'm amazed id not heard of this before, its just shot straight to the top of my all time favourite films. Looking forwards to watching it again very soon.

Kaufman's first movie as both writer and director is full of his trademark strangeness. It's also darkly funny -- sometimes hilariously so -- at times deeply moving, and occasionally quite depressing. After a fairly conventional start the movie gradually creeps into the bizarre as the main protagonist's life becomes entwined with his magnus opus: a monumentally-scaled play reflecting his own life. Caden Cotard battles against mysterious ill-health, desertion by his wife and daughter, his inability to form stable relationships, and the sprawling, leviathan that is his play. As his 1:1 recreation of his world becomes his world, and the decades pass without the play passing the rehearsal stage, Cotard is absorbed, and yet sidelined, by his own creation. Until death finally conjoins (or maybe separates) the man and his work. Kaufman seems to be trying to address many basic human themes. Sometimes he succeeds and sometimes he doesn't, but it's alway fascinating to watch him try. Philip Seymour Hoffman, as Cotard, is mesmerising, and is supported by an equally impressive cast. It certainly won't be to everyone's taste, but if you like thought-provoking, off-the-wall cinema this is a must-see.

This instantly became my favourite film. Kaufman is a genius, a mad mad genius.
I don't think I've ever seen a more complete creation, a character entirely composed of neuroses of various kinds, inhabiting and bringing into existence worlds within worlds within worlds and descending over years into an emotional maelstrom. I'm no psychology student, I enjoyed the story at face value but having read reviews from brains much larger than my own, it seems that everything has a meaning, the names of characters, their actions, locations etc etc. There is so much material here put across with such confidence and squeezed into a coherent (?)whole that it seems it must be autobiographical, but if that's true then Mr. Kaufman wouldn't get out of bed.
It is undoubtedly very clever, and also works on an emotional level, I think it is visually beautiful and paced perfectly.
But... it is an acquired taste, anyone who writes reviews containing the following: "...want the two hours of my life back..." "...not as clever as it thinks it is..." "...turned it off after ten minutes..." "...pretentious art student..." "...wish I could give it 0 stars..." will hate it, with a red hot passion.
For anyone who is happy to watch a work of art as opposed to a popcorn movie, I can't recommend this enough.

Kaufman's first directorial debut could have very well turned out to be a turkey. As it turns out it, however, he just may have created his masterpiece - the quintessential Kaufmanesque high concept film.

To give you a rough idea of the premise, the film documents the last forty years of theatre director Caden Cotard's life. After producing a string of fairly successful, if unfulfilling, minor theatre pieces he is awarded the mysterious MacAuthur grant, the so-called 'genius' grant, in order to produce a substantial work and legacy. Herein lies the narritive drive of the film as Cotard strives to define himself through his art.

There are many Kaufman-esque moments to keep fans enthralled, though the real charm of the film lies in its stripping of the shackles of the ego and laying the heart of humanity bare. Many questions are raised from the multi-layered story-telling. Time, for instance, is dipicted in such a way as to suggest that Cotard loses track of it at certain points of the film creating the impression of time gaining momentum as it hurtles towards its deunoumone. At one point in the film he mistakes the age of his little girl from his ex-marriage preserving the image he has of her in his head, an eternally youthful and innocent four-year-old. The scene involving their reunion is truly heartbreaking and emotionally eldritch as he discovers the cold-hard truth about his beloved 'flower girl'.

Whilst the film has its bleak moments, it also has moments of very funny black-humour. There are also deeply surreal aspects to the film (Hazel buying a house that is slowly burning down, or random cartoons on television with the face of Cotard on, to name but a few) but for the most part the film is grounded in a very realistic, albiet dreamlike and whimiscal, pseudo-logic.

The all-star cast provide sterling performances, Hoffman especially, helping to solidify the fantastical world Kaufman has created, and perhaps the reason behind Kaufman's success in directing his first feature film lies in their understanding of what is expected of them and their willingness to oblige his whimsies. The plot slowly infolds in to layer upon layer of infinite possibilities, like an old russian doll.

To go in to any great detail regarding the intricacies of the plot of Synocdoche, New York would be nonsensical and ultimately futile, as Kaufman's vision should be consumed holistically in order to fully appreciate its sheer scope and beauty. Like the title of the film suggests, and like life itself for that matter, the whole is sometimes greater than the sum of its parts.

A work of sheer genius that will cause you to look introspectively your own life, love and humanity. Perhaps it would be wise to keep a box of kleenex handy, also. - 5 stars

This film will have you wondering whats real and whats not.
A must-see for offbeat film fans. A must-NOT-see for hollywood blockbuster film fans, as it will fry your brain ;)

THOUGH I HAVE WATCHED SEVERAL DIFFICULT NON MAINSTEAM FILMS IN MY LIFETIME I HAVE TO CONFESS THAT THIS REALLY GAVE ME A HARD TIME.LACK OF SUBTITLES CERTAINLY DIDNT HELP NOR DID HOFFMANS WHISPERING ACTING.HONESTLY THERE ARE MOMENTS WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE ON ABOUT...
I MUST NEVERTHELESS GIVE PRAISE TO THE PERFORMANCES IN THE MOVIE,INCLUDING THE ALWAYS MEMORABLE EMILY WATSON IN A RATHER SMALL ROLE.
I DO NOT KNOW IF I CAN RECOMMEND THIS DVD FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.IT IS DEFINITELY NOT A COMEDY AS PRESENTED ON THE BOX COVER BUT STILL HAS VIRTUES TO BE DISCOVERED...