Hacker Cinema
Synecdoche, New York
2008 · Film · 124 min
Directed by Charlie Kaufman
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
17 positive1 negative1 mixed7 neutralfrom 26 commenters
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26 comments on Hacker News
This is kind of timely for me because very recently I had heard of the film "Synecdoche, New York", but in this film, the scale model is more life-size.
“Synecdoche, New York”
Depending on where I am, I get something different from this film.
I don’t usually rewatch movies on my own, so this is mostly a list of movies I thought were special enough to show other people.
Eighth grade
Mother!
The Thing
Rosemary’s Baby
Hereditary
Dead Ringers
Happiness
Synecdoche, New York
The Triplets of Bellville
Oh my.
I love Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP), but I found Synecdoche, New York to be sooo incredibly anti-interesting in its multiple layers of ironically unironic self-indulgence that I really truly hated the film.
I have never had such a strongly negative reaction to any other movie. I'm having trouble thinking of a somehwat-close second. Maybe Blue Velvet?
If I heard someone else say that, I'd imagine that they had missed something, or just didn't "get it", but I don't think that's the case! :)
In that case, I highly recommend watching the movie Synecdoche New York (2008).
PS Can I be your hairdresser?
I enjoy Roger Ebert's review of it: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/synecdoche-new-york-2008
Here's the first paragragh:
I think you have to see Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York" twice. I watched it the first time and knew it was a great film and that I had not mastered it. The second time because I needed to. The third time because I will want to. It will open to confused audiences and live indefinitely. A lot of people these days don't even go to a movie once. There are alternatives. It doesn't have to be the movies, but we must somehow dream. If we don't "go to the movies" in any form, our minds wither and sicken.
I'm a huge fan of Kaufman, I think I've seen almost everything he's done. In my opinion, "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" is not his best work. But I have to admit, I think of the themes in this movie more than almost any other film of his.
I read a few interpretations of the film before I watched it and I would actually recommend people to do the same. I think it is worth spoiling the premise behind the movie to understand what is going on. The film is purposefully obtuse which is off-putting to some. In fact, the "twist" of it wouldn't be obvious to most people who watch it. But to appreciate the depth of the story you have to get passed the surreality of the presentation.
Like "Synecdoche, New York", what remains once you strip away the fantasy is pretty bleak in an existential angst kind of way. But that is pretty much what you get with Kaufman: a bleak existential crisis.
I took a first date to Synecdoche, New York and we didn't have a second (good film though).
Synecdoche, New York is an awe-inspiring work, but it's incredibly hard to watch and left me ruined, mentally, for days afterwards. It's obvious why it's not a popular movie -- he talks about wounds in this speech, and that movie is basically an open psychic sore. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to make a movie that's so relentlessly grim and honest.
I'm a huge fan of Kaufman's work but only recently saw Synecdoche, New York, which immediately became my favorite movie, ever. That led me down a rabbit hole of listening to basically every recorded interview he's ever given. He's absolutely brilliant, sincerely humble, probably depressed, and just an absolute joy to listen to. I have a simple quote from him on my computer that I look at from time to time:
I try to do what I can to put something in the world that is not garbage.
Movie recommendation: Synecdoche New York
Great film.
Have you read Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser? If you enjoyed Synecdoche, New York, you should check it out.
The movie __Synecdoche, New York (2008)__ is where I first heard the term.
Wow, I did not expect a reference to 'Synecdoche, New York' to crop up here on HN, even less in such a fitting context. For anyone else wondering what this is about, here is the scene from the film (the whole film is worth watching if you are into the sort of postmodern-surrealist stuff):
Caden Cotard : I wanted to ask you, how old are kids when they start to write?
Madeleine Gravis : Listen, there's an absolutely brilliant novel written by a four year old.
Caden Cotard : Really?
Madeleine Gravis : 'Little Winky" by Horace Azpiazu.
Caden Cotard : That's cute.
Madeleine Gravis : Hardly, Litty Winky is a virulent anti-Semite. The story follows his initiation into the klan, his immersion in the pornographic snuff industry, and his ultimate degradation at the hands of a black ex-convict named Eric Washington Jackson Jones Johnson...
Caden Cotard : -Written by a four year old?
Madeleine Gravis : -Jefferson.
Caden Cotard : Wow, written by a four year old.
Madeleine Gravis : Well Azpiazu killed himself when he was five.
When I read the list of reasons "Why Jira Sucks" what came to mine was the Charlie Kaufman movie "Synecdoche, New York". In that movie, a playwright keeps expanding the scope of a play to more and more encompass the scope of reality itself. Likewise, some of the points (1, 2, 3, 5...) in the writer of "Why Jira Sucks" wants Jira to be bigger, to encompass the variety of ways work can flow.
I have been revisiting Charlie Kaufman's films within the wake of the "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" release, and "Synecdoche, New York" remains my favorite. If anyone here is considering watching it after seeing OP's comment, I highly encourage you to give it a watch.
And don't forget the incredible film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche,_New_York
There’s a picture from Radiohead’s original OK Computer website which this reminds me of.
“DENY OXYGEN
There is nothing I can say which will come as any sort of surprise to anyone. There is no work I can produce which hasn’t been done before. There is no music I can listen to which doesn’t remind me of something else. There is nothing I can do that isn’t documented in weekly magazines. My life is essentially a last-minute rush to reorder trivial, pointless, or stolen ideas into a primitive semblance of originality. Most of my time is spent crying in darkened rooms trying to remember who I was.”
The Gibson quote also reminds me of Synecdoche, New York, a stunningly beautiful film I probably can’t fully recommend because it’s so brutally depressing.
I find aggregated (and especially RT) scores mostly useless. Aggregated scores seem to consistently reward safe, samey material over anything interesting. Below are some of my absolute favourite movies from the last 10 years with RT score. A good chunk of these I would not have seen at all if I made my viewing decision based on "the wisdom of the crowds". I've also seen all the Marvel movies - they're so fleeting that I can't even tell you what happens in most of them. Almost all are "certified fresh".
- Speed Racer (40)
- Synecdoche: New York (69)
- Arrival (94)
- Her (94)
- The Neon Demon (57)
- Mad Max: Fury Road (97)
I didn't realize that's what synecdoche meant.
Adds some depth to the title of the movie "Synecdoche, New York"
> I once watched a documentary about a man managing an acting agency where people hired someone to act as a daughter, parent, etc.
Made me think of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche,_New_York
May be cliche, but "2001: A Space Odyssey" was huge for me the first time I really watched it through. Kubrick, in his own way, created a timepiece that reflected and captured the revolutionary mood of the late 1960's without ever having to directly bring it up. It is truly a movie about humanity and one which completely describes all my hopes and fears for the future of our kind. Not only that, but the film is really beautifully well done. Every shot feels like it means something. Every line of dialogue either drives the plot forward or serves to add greater meaning and mood to the storytelling. It's just a monumental work that I think everyone should at least try to see at some point in their life.
Also, "Synecdoche, New York" is a very depressing and introspective movie that left me reeling for days. Hard to get through, but very worth.
While it was satisfying to watch him hate the films I hate, it was incredibly validating to see him love the films I love.
Synecdoche, New York http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081105/REVIEWS/811059995 Paris, Texas http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19840101/REVIEWS/401010366/1023
(I just notice the similar form of those film titles. Curious!)
Wikipedia on Charlie Kaufman [1]. His film work includes Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Adaptation., Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Synecdoche, New York.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Kaufman
A very interesting theory of storytelling is the Dramatica theory of story. http://storymind.com/dramatica/
I believe the movie Contact (any many others) were written with the Dramatica template.
This area was how I was introduced to the site (I was investigating Robert Mckee because of seeing the movie "Synecdoche New York"): http://www.dramatica.com/theory/articles/index.htm
The description of the fake town is reminiscent of the set made by the troubled director in Charlie Kaufman's brilliantly skewed film Synecdoche, New York (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383028/)