Synecdoche, New York

There are no limits to what Charlie Kaufman can accomplish simply by using his imagination. This is definitely one of the most creative films that I have ever seen in my life: a brutally honest look into one man's life, and the lengths that he goes to in order to create a vision that is unique and personal. I keep reading differing opinions of this film, and some seem to think that it is a depressathon. This couldn't be farther from the truth. While it is sad in many ways, the film ultimately is a celebration of life and the way that we choose to live it. Most importantly, it is about creation, about art, about the human condition. It is a film that demands to be seen, simply because it is so large in scale - a film that is full to the brim in ideas. Some may say that this is the film's downfall. I see it as some sort of miracle. Why settle for something less than brilliant? Seek out something that will move you, something that will challenge you. SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK does all of that and more. The performances by the large cast are uniformly wonderful, and the writing and direction by Charlie Kaufman is spectacular. He has done a wonderful job with his directorial debut. The musical score by Jon Brion is brilliant. See this film. Ignore the negative reviews. Give it a chance, and you just might thank yourself in the long run.

An extraordinary film that I will certainly watch again. The role of Caden, which Philip Seymour Hoffman creates is a lifetime achievement portraying a man's life from middle age to elderly. He portrays it with the full embodiment of his entire lifetime as an actor. The other supporting actors, especially the role of his artist wife played by Catherine Keener and a cameo by Dianne Wiest - brilliant screen portraits to match the stunning directing. Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. I cannot say it any better than Roger Ebert. Here are some of the words he wrote about it when he reviewed it in 2008: "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. This is a film with the richness of great fiction. Like Suttree, the Cormac McCarthy novel I'm always mentioning, it's not that you have to return to understand it. It's that you have to return to realize how fine it really is. The surface may daunt you. The depths enfold you. The whole reveals itself, and then you may return to it like a talisman. Wow, is that ever not a "money review." Why will people hurry along to what they expect to be trash, when they're afraid of a film they think may be good? The subject of "Synecdoche, New York" is nothing less than human life and how it works. Using a neurotic theater director from upstate New York, it encompasses every life and how it copes and fails. Think about it a little and, my god, it's about you. Whoever you are."

I could watch this deeply affecting, unexpectedly funny, actually transformative film every day and get something new out of it each time and each time I find something important that I hadn’t even realized had gone missing. It’s the first movie I recommend to friends, always. Hoffman gives the performance of a career and Charlie Kaufman’s screenplay explodes form.

I had to watch this film a few times before I felt like I could give it the fair review I thought it deserved. I wasn't sure what to think after watching it the first time. The second time I was tempted to call it a masterpiece. In the end, I've decided that it is, in fact, a great film, but it is almost deliberately inaccessible. I can't imagine trying to show this movie to my Michael Bay-loving brother, or even my uncle who thought Being John Malkovich was very clever. No, this is a film for lovers of Iñárritu, of Lynch, of films like "The Fountain" by Aronofsky. Film as art, not film as mindless escapism. I think "Synecdoche" is definitely a work of art, and like all art, is open to interpretation, analysis, and debate. I had to physically restrain myself from blindly giving a five-star review. It seems to good to be true before you see it. Charlie Kaufman! Phillip Seymour Hoffman! Art-house Cinema with a capital C! What's not to love, right? My knee-jerk reaction to TRY to love this movie is probably not exclusive to me, but I think my repeated views and conscious effort to detach myself have given me at least some objectivity. First, Phillip Seymour Hoffman knocked it out of the park. Caden Cotard's neuroses and fears really come through brilliantly. As subtle and nuanced a performance as any he's given, including his depiction of Truman Capote which earned him an Academy Award. Next, Charlie Kaufman's eye for direction is impeccable. Every bit as visually commanding as anything by Paul Thomas Anderson, the Coen Brothers, or even Christopher Nolan. The range and power of each actor's performance is amazing. Finally, the script... And there's the rub. I'm sure people will disagree with me (and of course they are welcome to), but I feel the script is muddy and confusing. It's made somewhat better by repeat viewings, but no matter how many times I watch this movie there are times when I just feel like, "Why?" As in, "Why is her apartment on fire? What exactly is he trying to symbolize with this, and why has he chosen to do it in such an obtuse way?" I could go on, but the movie is full of moments that will just leave you shaking your head, brow furrowed. If you need to read someone else's opinion of what happened or what was meant - even after the third time you've seen the movie - the point was not made very well. All that said, the ending is truly moving, and leaves a feeling of awe, as if a great insight has just been revealed. To summarize, Synecdoche is a great film to be viewed like a painting. You can find your own interpretation of it, but don't expect it to explain itself to you.

I love this movie. So deep and so many layers. It is very intelectually charged and at times exhausting to follow the storyline. But still, my favorite movie by far.

Una auténtica obra de arte filmográfica que hipnotiza al espectador desde el principio hasta el fin. Hoffman impecable como siempre.

First off, the film is incredible - no complaints there. It is a dense, sometimes alienating, but richly rewarding and personally affecting film. The acting and actors are all good, with the notable exception of Philip Seymour Hoffman... who shines above the rest with (what my now be seen as) a personal performance; almost animalistic in it vulnerability, but deeply human in its complexity. The production design is impressive, the visual effects are subtle, the direction is very solid. But the thing that make Synecdoche, New York a 5 Star film ("the best of the decade" according to Roger Ebert) is the screenplay. What Charlie Kaufman has achieved transcends the limitations of conventional cinema. The screenplay may not be the most romantic, entertaining or thrilling, but it is intricate, dense, and personally rewarding for those who want to delve into Kaufman's mind - surely one the greatest screenplays ever written. I have always thought to myself that if you don't like this film then you can count yourself as lucky, because that means you aren't as troubled, depressed and anxious as the people shown in this film. The Extras on the Blu-ray are mostly substantial, but ultimately unrewarding for the films biggest fans (or skeptics). In and Around Synecdoche, New York - goes into the production of the film, from the design, makeup, and effects. The Story of Caden Cotard - an interview with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman about his character. Infectious Diseases in Cattle - a bunch of "blogger" sit round a table for half-an-hour being discussing the film, flimsily covering there obvious lack of knowledge into the intricacy of the screenplay. Screen Animations Script factory masterclass with Charlie Kaufman - a paradoxical lesson about writing from the writer who seems so against the idea of unoriginality in cinema writing. Postage and Packaging is all good, got here (the UK from the US) is a reasonable amount of time, undamaged. But the actual Blu-ray case is thinner than other Blu-rays I have, it is about 9 mm "deep" (I'm not sure if that is the right word, but I hope you get what I am saying), rather than the conventional 15mm "deep". Is this because it is from America, the land where the only things thin seem to be their paychecks and their blu-ray cases? Overall, buy this blu-ray for the film if you are an incredibly troubled individual. If you don't worry about death, love, life, art, purpose or meaning then stay clear of this film. Also I would recommend you watch all other Kaufman films first to get an idea of the themes and ideas at play in Synecdoche New York (Being John Malkovich, about art and existence, Adaptation, about the writing process and purpose, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, about Love, life and the mind).

If you liked Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind -- all written by Charlie Kaufman -- you owe it to yourself to see his directorial debut, at least once! Kaufman has done an excellent job of directing a fine ensemble cast, with production design that makes the whole story realistic despite the dreamlike way events unfold. The result has plenty of emotional impact, if you don't get too distracted and disoriented by the hallucinatory qualities of the story. One of the running gags in the film is the director's absurd attempts to come up with a title for his creation, which grow more and more absurd, and never arrive at the actual title of the film. The "Synecdoche" of the title refers to a figure of speech in which the name of a part represents the whole, and you'll see how that fits; but it's also a pun, because the story begins in Schenectady, New York. This invites comparison (in the literary world) with Joyce's Finnegans Wake, and both seem to give us a whole lifetime compressed (or repressed?) into a single dream; but the characters here don't shift identities as much as they do in FW, and Kaufman doesn't play with the language in Joycean fashion. The dialogue is plain as day, often very memorable and very funny, but it throws its light on a story with all the quirky twists and turns that you'd expect from a writer like Kaufman. Like Adaptation, this is a portrait of the artist (in this case a theatre director/playwright) at work on an oddball project, but here it grows to impossible proportions. It's also like David Lynch's Inland Empire (and Mulholland Drive) in being a drama about movie-making where the lives of the actors and the characters they play become inextricably and inexplicably entangled. This kind of film certainly isn't for everyone, but if you enjoy watching the boundaries between life and art, or dream and reality, dissolve, then it's for you.

Me ha pasado ha dos veces. Para que vender película sin subtítulos en español en Amazon Mexico? No me quejo por la calidad del envío o del Blu ray. Solo de el hecho de que vendan productos que no tiene algo que el comprador necesita.