Synecdoche, New York for those that have seen it

lostexpectation

wow just finished watching it,although its complex(and long) it actually surprisingly fun to watch


i always have problem with kaufman movies just being about some quirky women who comes along to save a boring mans life, but this had more to see then that in it.

i bet you could watch it again and again, look what one careful viewer noticed, well i did notice it, but not the exact amount of time.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383028/board/nest/132944659

...during the opening scene? The radio announcer on the alarm clock says it's September, the first day of Fall. Moments later, in the kitchen the radio (or television) says that it is October 8th and reports on an earthquake. Right at that moment Caden says "I don't feel well." Then when he returns to the house from getting the mail, he sits down with a newspaper dated October 14th. At the same moment the radio says it's already October 15th. THEN after turning one page of the newspaper it is two days later, October 17th. Then the milk is expired, but the expiration date says the 20th of October. He sits down and from the TV we hear "Happy Halloween Schenectady." Instantly it's November 1st, the newspaper suddenly is dated Nov 2nd. I can't believe I didn't notice all that from my first viewing!

talk about how he purposefully made for rewatch like you might rewatch a play on tow nights and see two different plays
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxps3oouNiQ

BlitzKrieg

huh?

I noticed the radio in those scenes and it clicked into place later on when the events started speeding up with the initial play and

his wife leaving him

I always assumed it was an important element of the film as he kept trying to find a moment that summed up his life but his life keeps changing every scene.

It does go a bit mad in the middle though which is great

Caliden

Just watched it there after reading this thread. No idea what the whole thing was about.
Donnie Darko made more sense the first time through.

Care to explain it with spoilers or are there good explanations out there on the net because I dont see myself understanding it better a second time through without an idea what to look out for

Richard Dower

It was rubbish, messy and utter nonsense, hugely overrated!

johnny_ultimate

Caliden wrote: »

Just watched it there after reading this thread. No idea what the whole thing was about.
Donnie Darko made more sense the first time through.

Care to explain it with spoilers or are there good explanations out there on the net because I dont see myself understanding it better a second time through without an idea what to look out for

Well it is a crazy complicated film, and I think I'll need a couple of viewings to digest it all, but at a very general level on a first viewing I thought it was about

the impossibility of creating a truly honest work of art. You can try all you want to make something that accurately reflects reality - with Caden going to the extreme length of recreating a city in its entirety, with all the people and places associated with New York. Yet such a feat is doomed to impossibility, with it always sprawling out of control: the warehouse within a warehouse, and later the warehouse within THAT warehouse and so on reflecting how the work of art has to become a part of the work itself. And the awkwardness of having every moment represented in the play ultimately damages his own relationships with Michelle Williams' character etc... Its Caden trying to create something about his life, but being unable to because the play itself becomes a vital part of his life. Its doomed to infinity basically, and he ages having failed to finish it (the work having collapsed entirely by the end)

I think overall its just about an artist trying to come to grips with his own failures in life - try as hard as he can to create a masterpiece, he is always somewhat doomed to be unhappy with it. There is a lot more going on - wikipedia has a good section on Kaufman explaining the imagery and symbolism - but that is personally what I took away from the main story

Brimmy

Richard Dower wrote: »

It was rubbish, messy and utter nonsense, hugely overrated!

Care to give your reason why it was messy? It's one of the most elaborate and complex films I've ever seen put together. All the scenes make sense and there is a great amount of forshadowing from earlier scenes that don't make sense initially that do by the end of the film. As for nonsense? It's really existentialist in its message and presentation so don't take offence but it may have gone completely over your head if you didn't see what it was trying to get at.

I can see why people don't like it, it doesn't have the quirky trademarks of Kaufmans previous works to the same blatant extent but they're still there. And they're a matter of personal preference whether you like them or not.

As for me I saw it at the film festival and stated that it was easily the best film I've seen in years, if not the best I've ever seen. I haven't rewatched it since but I still stand by the statement.

lostexpectation

one of the threads on imdb says they loved it but lost their love for it at the end when the clearner women starts to direct and that the funeral scene is woeful and priest speech is corny but i think at this point he gong so far up his own ass, that he totally looses control of any talent he had.

i was a little big confused at how much significnace you should put on ellen but sure it done'st matter theres plenty there


no need for spoilers tags in this thread

Brimmy

lostexpectation wrote: »

no need for spoilers tags in this thread

Why not? The film isn't even on general release yet. There should be every need for spoiler tags :rolleyes:

BlitzKrieg

Brimmy wrote: »

Why not? The film isn't even on general release yet. There should be every need for spoiler tags :rolleyes:

I assume because the title of the thread states For those that have seen it

but its been proven again and again that there are alot of people out there who dont read titles so spoiler tags will be demanded by the title challenged members of the community.

kraggy

Sorry to drag this up but has this been out yet? Been working hard all summer and haven't had much time for film.

christeb

kraggy wrote: »

Sorry to drag this up but has this been out yet? Been working hard all summer and haven't had much time for film.

Yep it's been and gone, well worth finding and donating some time to, as other posters said probably x2! Only watched it the once myself so far....